Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil is suing the Trump administration for arresting and incarcerating him over his involvement in the anti-Israel protests on campus.
The Center for Constitutional Rights issued a press release on Thursday announcing that he filed a lawsuit “detailing the harm he has suffered as a result of his politically motivated arrest and detention.”
Khalil is seeking $20 million in damages. He told a reporter that if he wins the lawsuit, he would use the money to help other foreign students who have been detained in a similar fashion.
Recently released after 104 days in detention, Mr. Khalil was the first person arrested by the Trump administration in its retaliatory crackdown on immigrants who have spoken out for Palestinian rights. The administration carried out its illegal plan to arrest, detain, and deport Mr. Khalil “in a manner calculated to terrorize him and his family,” the claim says. His mistreatment has caused and continues to cause “severe emotional distress, economic hardship, damage to his reputation, and significant impairment of his First Amendment and Fifth Amendment rights.” This is the first damages complaint brought by an individual targeted as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on noncitizens protesting Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
“This is the first step towards accountability. 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,” Khalil said, according to the press release. “But let’s be clear, the same government that targeted me for speaking out is using taxpayer dollars to fund Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) slammed Khalil’s lawsuit, accusing him of harassing Jewish students.
"Mahmoud Khalil's claim that DHS officials branded him as an antisemite and terrorized him and his family is absurd. It was Khalil who terrorized Jewish students on campus. He ‘branded’ himself as antisemite through his own hateful behavior and rhetoric," DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. "It is a privilege to be granted a visa or green card to live and study in the United States of America. The Trump Administration acted well within its statutory and constitutional authority to detain Khalil, as it does with any alien who advocates for violence, glorifies and supports terrorists, harasses Jews, and damages property."
Khalil, a 30-year-old Syrian-born Palestinian, is a lawful US permanent resident who recently graduated from Columbia University. ICE agents arrested him at his Manhattan apartment on March 8, 2025, after showing up without a warrant.
The State Department invoked a provision in the Immigration and Nationality Act that empowers the Secretary of State to initiate deportation proceedings against an immigrant if they believe their “presence or activities in the United States” could result in “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.”
The authorities detained Khalil at the LaSalle Detention Center in Louisiana for 104 days before a judge ordered his release, determining his detention was unconstitutional. Another judge issued an order barring the administration from deporting him.
Critics accused the Trump administration of engaging in politically motivated crackdowns on foreign students for engaging in lawful protests. However, the White House claims its actions were justified, alleging that Khalil supported terrorist groups and distributed Hamas-branded materials at demonstrations. However, the administration has not yet provided evidence proving this.
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