Mahmoud Khalil sues Trump officials over alleged targeting campaign

Mahmoud Khalil, the former Columbia University graduate student whose detention made him a central figure in the Trump administration’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian activism, sued senior administration officials and pro-Israel groups Tuesday, accusing them of conspiring to punish and deport him for his advocacy.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan by the Center for Constitutional Rights, seeks damages and asks that elements of the alleged conspiracy be barred from use in Khalil’s ongoing deportation proceedings. Khalil, a permanent U.S. resident and green card holder, is still fighting the government’s effort to remove him from the country.

“This case is about far more than what was done to me,” Khalil said at a news conference outside the courthouse. “It’s about exposing the network of organisations, political actors, and institutions that work together to criminalise solidarity with Palestine and to make an example of those who refuse to stay silent.”

The complaint names White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other administration officials as defendants, along with the Heritage Foundation, Canary Mission and Betar. Al Jazeera reported that the lawsuit also lists Markwayne Mullin and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche among the defendants.

Khalil’s lawyers allege the Heritage Foundation developed “Project Esther,” described in the complaint as a “blueprint” for a public-private effort to dismantle the growing U.S. movement for Palestinian rights by targeting prominent noncitizens and conflating pro-Palestinian advocacy with anti-Jewish sentiment. The lawsuit says Betar and Canary Mission helped identify targets, including by compiling lists of pro-Palestinian students and scholars.

The complaint alleges government officials worked “hand-in-hand” with those groups “to deprive the selected individuals of their fundamental rights and to broadcast the chilling message that Palestinians and their supporters would be subject to state repression solely because of their identities and constitutionally-protected political viewpoints.” It was brought under the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, a Reconstruction-era law passed to combat violent intimidation by the Klan and protect constitutional rights.

Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights and one of Khalil’s lawyers, described the case as challenging a “private-public partnership to single out non-citizen students who would be vulnerable to immigration laws.” He added, “We’re still fighting in federal courts and immigration courts about his deportation.”

Federal immigration authorities arrested Khalil on March 8, 2025. Born in Syria to Palestinian parents and married to a U.S. citizen, he was sent to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Louisiana, where he was held for 104 days and missed the birth of his child. A federal judge in New Jersey ordered his release in June 2025, but the government has continued to pursue deportation.

The Trump administration initially argued Khalil could be deported because his presence would have “adverse foreign policy consequences,” as Rubio said at the time. Officials later alleged Khalil misrepresented information on his green-card application, including, according to Al Jazeera, by failing to disclose prior work with the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. Khalil’s lawyers deny the allegation, and UNRWA has said he was never on its payroll and was only briefly affiliated as an intern.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in response to the lawsuit that “Khalil obtained his visa by willfully and intentionally failing to accurately report information relevant to his background” and that “those who lie to the government to obtain entry into the United States will face justice.” A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the agency had “acted well within its statutory and constitutional authority with respect to Khalil” and urged him to “self-deport.”

The Heritage Foundation, Canary Mission and Betar did not immediately respond to The Guardian’s requests for comment.

The Guardian previously reported that Betar US publicly claimed credit for Khalil’s arrest and said it had submitted “thousands of names” to the administration for similar treatment. In a prior trial over the administration’s policy toward pro-Palestinian students and scholars, an ICE official testified that the agency assembled a team to investigate student protesters and produced more than 100 reports based on a list of 5,000 people identified on the Canary Mission website.