Palestinian Student Challenges Trump Administration in Federal Court
Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian activist detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier this year, has launched a legal battle against Trump administration officials. The lawsuit demands the release of communications between federal agencies and anti-Palestinian groups that Khalil alleges contributed to his March arrest and subsequent detention.
The case centres on what Khalil describes as a coordinated campaign to silence pro-Palestinian voices on American campuses. According to the Center for Constitutional Rights, which represents Khalil, several organisations have publicly claimed responsibility for providing dossiers on Palestine activists to the administration.
Targeted by Far-Right Groups
Several weeks before his arrest, the far-right pro-Israel group Betar USA reportedly included Khalil on its deportation list and announced on social media platform X that ICE knew his home address and whereabouts. The group allegedly shared this information with Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
In the days immediately preceding Khalil's detention, additional pressure came from Documenting Jew Hatred on Campus, which called for his deportation in an X post. They were joined by Shai Davidai, a Columbia University professor and advisory board member of the same organisation.
"For months, shady organisations and individuals carried out a smear and harassment campaign designed to intimidate and silence me," Khalil stated through the Center for Constitutional Rights. He emphasised that the public deserves "full accountability for every bad actor who helped make that possible."
Seeking Transparency Through Lawsuit
The lawsuit aims to uncover records of communications between multiple federal agencies - including ICE, the Justice Department, State Department, and Homeland Security - and several specific organisations:
- Canary Mission
- Betar
- Documenting Jew Hatred on Campus
- Columbia Alumni for Israel
- Middle East Forum
- Shirion Collective
- Capital Research Center
- Camera
Khalil is also seeking any communications between these agencies and individuals who allegedly targeted, doxxed, or called for the deportation of pro-Palestinian students.
Adina Marx-Arpadi, an attorney and justice fellow at the Center for Constitutional Rights, stated: "Mr Khalil and the public at large have the right to know about the depth of the collusion between the federal government and the shadowy groups targeting people who speak out against a genocide."
Release After Three-Month Detention
Khalil was eventually released from an ICE facility in Jena, Louisiana, in June after being held for more than three months. His detention stemmed from his activism against Israel's war on Gaza. The Columbia University student had been arrested in early March in the lobby of his university building.
His case represented the first in a series of arrests targeting international student activists. The administration suffered several defeats in its attempts to deport pro-Palestinian international students en masse, with three other students - Rümeysa Öztürk, Badar Khan Suri, and Mohsen Mahdawi - previously released while their immigration cases remain pending.
Earlier this year, Khalil filed a separate claim for $20 million in damages against the administration, alleging false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, and being falsely smeared as an antisemite. That July filing named the Department of Homeland Security, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the State Department.
The outcome of this lawsuit could reveal the extent of coordination between government agencies and external groups in targeting activist students during a period of heightened campus tensions over Palestinian rights.
