Mahmoud Khalil arrives at Newark Liberty International Airport
Mahmoud Khalil arrives at Newark Liberty International Airport on Saturday, June 21.
Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil, who was held for months in immigration detention in connection with his pro-Palestinian activism, is seeking $20 million in a claim filed against the Trump administration on July 10.
Khalil alleges in the claim that the government abused its power to falsely arrest, imprison and prosecute him. His treatment caused “severe emotional distress, economic hardship, damage to his reputation, and significant impairment of his First Amendment and Fifth Amendment rights,” the claim states.
Arrested on March 8 in Manhattan, the 30-year-old activist was held in a facility in Louisiana, 1,400 miles from his pregnant wife and, later, newborn son. On June 20, a federal judge in New Jersey ordered his release, finding that the government’s efforts to deport him on foreign policy grounds were likely unconstitutional.
“This is the first step towards accountability,” Khalil said in a statement. “Nothing can restore the 104 days stolen from me. The trauma, the separation from my wife, the birth of my first child that I was forced to miss.” He called for “accountability for political retaliation and abuse of power.”
The harm resulted from Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s determination that Khalil’s presence and activities are adverse to foreign policy interest, the claim says. The Trump administration has stated that it has the authority to deport noncitizens on foreign policy grounds under a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Responding to Khalil’s claim, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that “it is a privilege to be granted a visa or green card to live and study in the United States of America” and that “the Trump Administration acted well within its statutory and constitutional authority to detain Khalil.”
President Donald Trump has called protesters against Israel’s war in Gaza antisemitic and conflated protests with support for “terrorist activities.” Khalil said such allegations, lobbed against him, were false and caused “extreme emotional distress and irreparably spoiled his reputation, career, and safety.” Khalil has condemned antisemitism before and since his arrest.
The allegations have made Khalil and his wife a target of harassment, death threats, surveillance and frivolous litigation, the claim says. Khalil said the government’s treatment is retaliation for constitutionally protected speech in defense of Palestinian rights and that he would not be silenced.
His claim is a precursor to a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration, said the Center for Constitutional Rights, which is part of his legal team.
Khalil still faces charge
Khalil still faces a charge in federal court in New Jersey that he had inaccuracies on his green card application. He and his lawyers say the allegations are false. On July 9, his lawyers filed a motion challenging the government’s attempts to detain and deport him based on the immigration charge as unconstitutional.
A Palestinian born in Syria, Khalil was a student negotiator and spokesman for protesters at Columbia in the spring of 2024, when demonstrations against war in Gaza gripped college campuses. Federal immigration agents arrested Khalil on March 8 in the lobby of his student apartment building in Manhattan as he returned home from dinner with his wife.
Khalil said in his statement that he would “continue to pursue justice against everyone who contributed to my unlawful detention or spread lies in an attempt to destroy my reputation, including those affiliated with Columbia University.”
“I’m holding the U.S. government accountable not just for myself, but for everyone they try to silence through fear, exile, or detention,” he said.
Khalil’s lawyers submitted the claim against the departments of Homeland Security and State under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which allows people to sue the U.S. government for damages for violations of civil law.
Khalil is seeking $20 million in damages for personal injury and emotional distress. He would accept, in lieu of payment, an official apology and abandonment of the administration’s unconstitutional policy, said a statement from his lawyers.
