Weeks after gaining his freedom from ICE detention, Mahmoud Khalil has filed suit against the Trump administration seeking $20 million in damages—or a formal apology and pledge to stop detaining student activists.
Federal immigration agents detained Khalil—a prominent student activist at Columbia University—on March 8 over his participation in pro-Palestinian protests on campus. A federal judge ordered his release on June 20, though his deportation case remains ongoing.
The claim, filed Thursday by Khalil’s attorneys, accuses the federal government of terrorizing, falsely arresting, maliciously prosecuting, and smearing Khalil. It also states he continues to suffer threats and emotional trauma following his release.
“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.”
The filing is a precursor to a claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which allows individuals to sue the federal government for civil rights violations. It names U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the State Department, and the Department of Homeland Security as defendants.
Khalil’s filing accuses the federal government of “outrageous conduct,” alleging that immigration officials violated constitutional procedures during a “highly publicized” case and unjustly separated him from his family.
“The United States government carried out a politically motivated plan to unlawfully arrest, detain, and deport Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful permanent resident, in a manner designed to punish and deter him from constitutionally protected advocacy, by terrorizing him and his family,” the claim reads.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, wrote in a statement to the Associated Press that Khalil’s claim is “absurd” and accused him of “hateful behavior and rhetoric” targeting Jewish students.
The State Department also asserted that it had acted in a lawful manner.
Khalil told the AP he plans to share any settlement money with other activists targeted by the Trump administration for exercising their speech rights. He added that he would accept a formal apology and an end to the administration’s campaign to detain noncitizens over speech as an alternative to the $20 million in damages.
“They are abusing their power because they think they are untouchable,” Khalil said. “Unless they feel there is some sort of accountability, it will continue to go unchecked.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged Khalil did not break the law but asserted that his actions were antithetical to U.S. foreign policy interests, thus unilaterally justifying his deportation — a principle critics and scholars have labeled the “Rubio Determination.”
The claim portrays Khalil’s detention as politically, not legally, motivated. His lawyers particularly point to Khalil overhearing during his detention one agent saying, “The White House is requesting an update,” as evidence of the political considerations.
Khalil told NBC News that the claim is not a way to make money, but rather to hold the Trump administration accountable.
“My goal is not self-enrichment,” Khalil said. “I don’t want this money just because I need money. What I want is actual accountability — real, real accountability against the injustices that happened against me with the malicious prosecutions.”
Khalil’s arrest was widely condemned by critics as an attempt to punish speech that the Trump administration opposed. Many experts viewed it as a significant escalation in the federal government’s efforts to deport noncitizens based on their political expression.
Khalil told reporters after his release that he believes he is not the only person the Trump administration has targeted.
“Although justice prevailed, it’s very long overdue, and this shouldn’t have taken three months,” Khalil said. “I leave some incredible men behind me, over 1,000 people behind me, in a place where they shouldn’t have been.”
