TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil has filed a wrongful detention claim against Trump's administration. He's seeking US$20 million in damages after being imprisoned for more than three months without clear evidence.
Mahmoud Khalil filed the lawsuit for wrongful imprisonment, malicious prosecution, and defamation as an anti-Semite. The Trump administration attempted to deport Khalil for his involvement in pro-palestine campus protests. Khalil's restitution claim includes the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Department of State.
The lawsuit was filed as the deportation case against Mahmoud Khalil, a 30-year-old graduate student at Columbia University, continues in the immigration court system. Khalil's goal, he said, is to send a message that he will not be intimidated into silence.
"They are abusing their power because they think they are untouchable," Khalil was quoted from Al Jazeera. "Unless they feel there is some sort of accountability, it will continue to go unchecked."
If his lawsuit is successful, Khalil plans to share the settlement money with others targeted by Trump to silence support for Palestine. In lieu of the settlement, he said he would accept an official apology and a change in government deportation policy.
In a statement via email, Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, called Khalil's claims "absurd." McLaughlin accused Khalil of engaging in behavior and rhetoric of hatred that threatened Jewish students.
A spokesperson for the Department of State said the actions against Khalil were fully supported by the law. There has been no response from the White House and U.S. Immigration.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an April memo that Khalil's campus activities were legitimate. However, he noted that Khalil's deportation was necessary to avoid weakening U.S. foreign policy.
As reported by Newsweek, Khalil's release came after he and his legal team appealed a judge's decision on June 13, 2025, that he could remain in U.S. immigration detention in Louisiana based on the Trump administration's arguments. He was accused of fraudulently obtaining his green card.
For Khalil, this trauma is deeply personal. On a recent afternoon, he sat in his Manhattan apartment cradling his 10-week-old son, Deen, reminiscing about the night he spent in the cold immigration detention in Louisiana, waiting for news of his baby's birth in New York.
"I cannot describe the pain of that night," Khalil said, looking down at his infant son. "This is something I will never forgive."
Editor’s Choice: Pro-Palestine Activist Mahmoud Khalil Released After Months in ICE Detention
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