Weeks after his release from immigration detention, Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent negotiator and spokesperson during Columbia University’s pro-Palestinian protests, has initiated an administrative complaint against the Trump administration, seeking $20 million in damages.
Khalil, who spent over three months detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) amid efforts for his deportation, claims he was a victim of false arrest and imprisonment, malicious prosecution, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and other alleged wrongdoings.
His complaint has been filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act and serves as a precursor to a potential federal lawsuit.
Represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights, Khalil plans to use any awarded funds to assist others who have faced similar targeting under the Trump administration and Columbia University’s policies.
The organization indicated that Khalil is willing to accept an official apology and a promise to abandon the perceived unconstitutional policies instead of monetary compensation.
At 30 years old, Khalil played a significant role in spearheading pro-Palestinian encampments at Columbia during the heightened tensions following the Israel-Hamas war in spring 2024.
A green card holder and married to a U.S. citizen, Khalil was detained by ICE agents in March while in his apartment building in New York City.
He became the first high-profile pro-Palestinian activist to be apprehended by ICE during President Donald Trump’s administration, which vowed to “crush” campus protests characterized as hotbeds of antisemitism.
Khalil was moved to an ICE facility in Louisiana, with the Trump administration pursuing his deportation in court, citing his supposed support of Hamas—a claim denied by his legal team, who assert that the administration has provided no evidence to substantiate it.
Earlier this year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio invoked a rarely used legal provision to determine that Khalil’s continued presence in the United States posed a risk to national foreign policy.
While an immigration judge in Louisiana ruled Khalil deportable, a federal judge in New Jersey later issued an order preventing the Trump administration from deporting or continuing to detain him under such claims.
Khalil was finally released from custody on June 20, but the Trump administration has persisted in its efforts for his deportation.
The complaint also states that the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and ICE engaged in a “retaliatory arrest” against Khalil due to his constitutionally protected speech.
Public officials, including those at high levels of the U.S. government, allegedly disparaged Khalil on social media by calling him a terrorist sympathizer and an antisemite—labels deemed derogatory and designed to tarnish his reputation, jeopardize his safety, and cause him significant emotional distress.
In a response to ABC News, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin asserted that the Trump administration acted within its legal rights in detaining Khalil.
She described Khalil’s allegations as absurd and claimed he posed a threat to Jewish students on campus through his behavior and rhetoric.
McLaughlin emphasized that holding a visa or green card is a privilege in the U.S.
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