Mahmoud Khalil, a former student activist at Columbia University, has filed a $20 million damages claim against the Trump administration, alleging that he was unlawfully detained and targeted for his outspoken support of Palestinian rights. The claim, filed Thursday, accuses top federal agencies—including the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—of wrongful imprisonment, malicious prosecution, and violations of his constitutional rights.
Khalil, who spent 104 days in detention, contends that his arrest was part of a politically motivated crackdown on pro-Palestinian voices, making him the first known target of such actions under the Trump administration. The legal filing argues that officials abused a Cold War-era immigration provision—Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act—that permits deportation based on vague claims of undermining U.S. foreign policy.
Filed with support from the Center for Constitutional Rights, the claim states that Khalil was falsely arrested and imprisoned without probable cause. It alleges DHS agents entered his student housing without a warrant, falsely claimed his immigration status had been revoked, and transferred him over 1,400 miles away to a Louisiana facility, hampering his legal defense.
According to the complaint, agents also threatened to arrest his pregnant wife, a U.S. citizen, and withheld critical ulcer medication for two days during his initial detention. Khalil lost 15 pounds during the ordeal, and ICE denied him furlough to attend the birth of his first child.
In the filing, Khalil accuses high-level officials of defaming him as a terrorist, which led to threats against his family and the loss of a job opportunity with a human rights organization. He is demanding either $20 million in damages or a formal government apology and a reversal of what he calls an “unconstitutional policy.”
“This is the first step towards accountability,” Khalil said in a statement. “The trauma, the separation from my wife, the birth of my first child that I was forced to miss—nothing can restore those days. But I will continue to seek justice, not just for myself, but for everyone silenced by fear, exile, or detention.”
Samah Sisay, a staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, said the government’s actions caused Khalil “severe emotional distress, economic hardship, and lasting reputational harm.”
A federal judge ordered Khalil’s release in June, ruling that his detention was unconstitutional and would cause “irreparable harm.” The court also issued a preliminary injunction barring the administration from using the INA’s “foreign policy” clause to target individuals solely for their political speech—a landmark decision protecting non-citizens’ right to advocate for Palestinian human rights.
The lawsuit is the first known damages claim filed by a non-citizen in response to the Trump administration’s alleged efforts to silence pro-Palestinian dissent through immigration enforcement.
