Mahmoud Khalil sues Columbia over ‘shocking’ disregard for safety of Palestinian students

After spending more than 100 days in ICE detention, the 31-year-old Palestinian activist is continuing to fight the Trump administration’s efforts to deport him.MANHATTAN (CN) — Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil sued his alma mater Monday, claiming the Ivy League college didn’t do enough to protect pro-Palestinian activists like himself from a doxxing campaign he says “directly led” to his immigration detention last year.In a 60-page lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Khalil and other campus activists say they went to school administrators for help addressing the harassment, which started in the aftermath of Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Columbia’s response was “deliberate indifference,” Khalil claims, exhibiting a “shockingly callous disregard for the rights and safety of Palestinian students.”Among the harassment Khalil says he faced was a “doxxing truck” that circled the campus displaying pictures of pro-Palestinian activists at Columbia, with accompanying text that read “Columbia’s Leading Antisemites.” The activists’ photos and information also appeared on inflammatory websites like Canary Mission, a controversial and anonymously run website aimed at ousting those who speak out against Israel’s bombing campaign and Zionism at large.But instead of protecting them, Khalil argues the school retaliated against him and other members of the Palestine Working Group, a Palestinian cultural and advocacy organization part of Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs.“As student protests continued into the Spring 2024 semester, defendants became increasingly complicit in tolerating and fomenting a campus atmosphere that was rife with harassment,” he claims. “Contrary to decades of articulated principles, Columbia University deployed intrusive surveillance mechanisms against its own students, called the New York Police Department onto campus to clear and arrest students participating in encampments, and engaged in mass disciplinary proceedings to punish students for their vocal support of Palestine, perceived shared Arab and/or Muslim ancestry, and status as non-citizens and/or immigrants.”Columbia eventually characterized Palestine Working Group as a hostile group to limit its on-campus presence and later suspended it entirely.According to Khalil, the action — and inaction — from the college put a target on his back as a Palestinian activist that led to his arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on March 8, 2025. Khalil wound up spending more than 100 days in detention, missing the birth of his first child before he was ordered released by a federal judge.The incident saw Khalil become the poster child of the Trump administration’s suppression of pro-Palestinian speech. A legal permanent resident with a green card, administration officials tried justifying Khalil’s detention by designating him a national security threat, later detaining other activists under the same rarely used law.“During Mr. Khalil’s detainment … other PWG members were subjected to ongoing peer-on-peer harassment for showing support for Mr. Khalil and demanding defendants take action to protect similarly situated students,” Khalil claims. “PWG members again reported these instances of harassment to defendants, who took no appropriate corrective action against the harassers, and instead retaliated against PWG and its members.”While now out of immigration custody, Khalil is continuing to fight against the government’s efforts to deport him.“Columbia laid the groundwork for my targeting by the Trump administration through its deliberate indifference and discrimination aimed at intimidating Palestinian students,” Khalil said in a statement Monday. “For over two years, we pleaded with Columbia. Columbia did not care. Our safety and our well-being did not serve the ideological project its Board of Trustees was protecting, so they traded us away.”“We are suing because no student should ever have to go through the hell Columbia put us through all these years,” he added, teasing future litigation against “the hateful individuals at Columbia who were also responsible for what we endured.”Khalil is seeking a court order preventing Columbia from engaging in similar behavior in the future, ending Palestine Working Group’s suspension, and awarding damages. He accuses the school of breach of contract and violating a variety of civil rights laws, including Title VI.A university spokesperson declined to comment specifically on the pending litigation but said in a statement that it takes all claims of discrimination seriously.“Creating a campus environment where every member of our community feels welcome, supported, and safe is fundamental to who we are as a university,” the spokesperson said. “It is also a responsibility we take seriously. Columbia is committed to protecting our community from discrimination and harassment, and responding promptly and appropriately when concerns arise.”Monday’s lawsuit is the latest action Khalil has taken related to his experience. In July, he sued the Trump administration and Zionist groups under an anti-KKK law, claiming they illegally colluded to intimidate and jail those who criticize Israel. He’s also involved in a lawsuit brought to prevent Columbia from sharing student protester information with Republicans in Congress.Khalil is separately seeking $20 million from the U.S. government for his three-month detention.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads