Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil weeks after being discharged from jail, is seeking restitution as his lawyers filed a claim for $20 million in damages against the Trump administration. They alleged that Khalil was falsely imprisoned, maliciously prosecuted and smeared as an 'antisemite' as the government sought to deport him over his prominent role in campus protests.
The filing is a precursor to a lawsuit under the Federal Tort Claims Act and names the Department of Homeland Security, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the State Department.
It comes as the deportation case against Khalil, a 30-year-old recent graduate student at Columbia University, continues to wind its way through the immigration court system.
What Did Khalil Say?
Speaking to Associated Press, Khalil said this lawsuit is aimed to send a message that he won't be intimidated into silence.
“They are abusing their power because they think they are untouchable,” Khalil said.
“Unless they feel there is some sort of accountability, it will continue to go unchecked.”
Khalil also said that he plans to share any settlement money with others targeted in Trump’s “failed” effort to suppress pro-Palestinian speech.
In lieu of a settlement, he would also accept an official apology and changes to the administration’s deportation policies.
