Pro-Hamas Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil sues Trump administration for $20 million over detention

Khalil was arrested on March 8 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on pro-Hamas activists.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Pro-Hamas activist from Syria, Mahmoud Khalil, is suing the Trump administration $20 million for the 100 days he spent in immigrant detention, the Independent reports.

The court filing for the federal lawsuit accused the administration of “retaliatory arrests” when the Columbia University graduate was detained in Louisiana for antisemitic activities.

“There must be accountability for political retaliation and abuse of power,” Khalil stated. “I’m holding the US government accountable not just for myself, but for everyone they try to silence through fear, exile, or detention.”

Khalil was arrested on March 8 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on pro-Hamas activists.

Upon his release in June, Khalil was greeted by supporters, including U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and spoke to reporters at New Jersey’s Newark International Airport.

“The U.S. government is funding this genocide, and Columbia University is investing in this genocide,” he said. “This is why I will continue to protest with everyone of you. Not only if they threaten me with detention, even if they would kill me, I would still speak up for Palestine.”

Ocasio-Cortez said his detention violated the First Amendment and was “an affront to every American.”

“He has been accused, baselessly, of horrific allegations simply because the Trump administration and our overall establishment disagree with his political speech,” she said.

“The Trump administration knows that they are waging a losing legal battle,” Ocasio-Cortez added. “They are violating the law, and they know that they are violating the law.”

The administration has maintained that noncitizens who engage in demonstrations expressing antisemitic or pro-Hamas sentiments should face removal from the United States.

Despite this stance, Khalil was released from custody after U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz noted that continued detention of a legal resident “would be highly, highly unusual” given the absence of any violent allegations and the low risk of flight.