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Mahmoud Khalil Files $20 Million Claim Alleging False Imprisonment by Trump Administration

He contends his 104-day detention followed by deportation proceedings was orchestrated by federal agencies seeking to punish his campus activism.

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Mahmoud Khalil speaks in an interview with Reuters in New York City, U.S., July 2, 2025.  REUTERS/Angelina Katsanis/File Photo
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Overview

  • Khalil’s lawyers filed a $20 million claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act accusing the Department of Homeland Security, ICE and the State Department of false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and defamation.
  • The filing asserts Trump administration officials orchestrated a campaign to terrorize Khalil and his family by branding him antisemitic and secretly transferring him to a remote Louisiana detention center.
  • A federal judge ordered Khalil released on bail after he spent 104 days in an ICE facility, ruling that his attempted deportation on foreign policy grounds likely violated his constitutional rights.
  • Khalil now faces fresh fraud charges over his green card application, which his attorneys characterize as baseless retaliation that should be dismissed as his immigration case proceeds.
  • He plans to distribute any damages award to fellow activists targeted under Trump’s protest crackdown and would accept an official apology and revisions to deportation policies.