The first pro-Palestinian college protest organizer detained by the Trump administration and since released has now become the first to take legal action against the White House.
Mahmoud Khalil, a Syrian-born green card holder who led campus pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel, filed a claim to hold the “Trump administration accountable for unlawful arrest and other abuses” he faced, per a press release by the Center for Constitutional Rights.
He is seeking $20 million, which he would presumably share to help “others similarly targeted” or “an official apology and abandonment of the administration’s unconstitutional policy.”
Since his release from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Louisiana, Khalil has shared his experience with multiple news outlets, proclaiming that he was falsely arrested and that his First and Fourth Amendment rights were violated. He also told CNN that the facility’s conditions were harsh — food was nearly inedible, temperatures were freezing, and no blankets were provided, he alleged. Missing the birth of his first child made it the most difficult time of his life, he said.
He was denied temporary release to witness the birth of his son by his wife, who is an American citizen.
“This is the first step toward accountability. Nothing can restore the 104 days stolen from me,” Khalil said in 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.”
“There must be accountability for political retaliation and abuse of power. And I won’t stop here. I will 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.”
Many, especially within the Trump administration, view Khalil not as a martyr for his cause but as a perpetrator, since his criticisms of the United States and his involvement in protests that caused millions in damages suggest he is less a victim and more responsible.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin criticized Khalil in a statement to Fox News:
“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. 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.”
An anonymous senior State Department official also told Fox News that “there is ongoing litigation with respect to this matter. However, our position is that the actions of the United States with respect to Mahmoud Khalil were correct and necessary and fully supported both by fact and by law. It is our duty to use all available lawful tools and measures to remove aliens who violate our laws or pose a threat to our fellow citizens and communities.”