MAHMOUD KHALIL SUING TRUMP ADMIN FOR ‘POLITICALLY MOTIVATED ARREST, DETENTION’

Fri 11 July 2025:

Mahmoud Khalil, the former Columbia University graduate student who was detained as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on pro-Palestine advocacy in the US, is seeking $20m “to help others similarly targeted”, his lawyers say.

“He would accept, in lieu of payment, an official apology and abandonment of the administration’s unconstitutional policy”, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) said in a statement announcing the soon-to-be-filed lawsuit.

Khalil, who was released in June after more than three months in detention, was the first known activist to be detained and have his legal immigration status revoked by the Trump administration over involvement in student protests in support of Gaza.

“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 in the CCR statement.

“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”, he said.

“I’m holding the US government accountable not just for myself, but for everyone they try to silence through fear, exile, or detention”.

Khalil has previously shared his “horrendous” experience in detention, where he “shared a dorm with over 70 men, absolutely no privacy, lights on all the time.”

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President Donald Trump‘s government has justified pushing for Khalil’s deportation by saying his continued presence in the United States could carry “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.”

Khalil’s detention came amid Trump’s campaign against top US universities in recent months, with the president facing off against Columbia, Harvard and other schools over foreign student enrollment while cutting federal grants and threatening to strip accreditation.

Beyond his legal case, Khalil’s team has expressed fear he could face threats out of detention.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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