A foreign national on a green card is suing an American university for failing to shield his anti-American activism — and every dime Columbia spends defending this circus is a dime that isn't going to educate an American student.
Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and former Columbia graduate student, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Monday alleging the university showed "deliberate indifference" to harassment against him and other members of a pro-Palestinian campus group, retaliated against them when they reported it, and ultimately paved the way for his arrest by immigration agents. Khalil, who gained prominence as a spokesperson for student activists protesting Israel's actions in Gaza, is demanding damages, restored campus access, and an end to the Palestinian group's suspension.
Here is what actually happened: ICE agents arrested Khalil at his campus apartment in March 2025, the first foreign national detained under the Trump administration's crackdown on pro-Palestinian demonstrators. He spent 104 days in a Louisiana immigration jail — missing the birth of his first child — before a federal judge ordered his release. His deportation case remains active. Now he's claiming Columbia is to blame for his detention because the university "refused to correct disinformation" about him and failed to protect students from doxing campaigns.
The lawsuit accuses Columbia of retaliating by characterizing pro-Palestinian events as security risks and revising disciplinary policy to target criticism of the Israeli government. Khalil also accused the university of surveilling pro-Palestinian students and hiring private investigators to monitor him, according to NBC News.
"Columbia laid the groundwork for my targeting by the Trump administration through its deliberate indifference and discrimination aimed at intimidating Palestinian students," Khalil wrote in a statement announcing the lawsuit, as reported by The Guardian.
Columbia declined to comment on pending litigation but issued a statement saying it is "committed to protecting our community from discrimination and harassment, and responding promptly and appropriately when concerns arise."
This is the same Columbia that let encampments overtake its campus, that watched its own students takeover buildings, and that became ground zero for the campus intifada movement. The Guardian framed Columbia as "the first to be targeted by the Trump administration as part of its ongoing effort to exploit antisemitism accusations to bend universities to its agenda." NBC and the Daily News buried the context of Khalil's immigration status deep in their copy. None of the outlets asked the obvious question: why is a foreign national on a green card entitled to use American civil rights law to demand an American university subsidize his activism against an American ally?
Khalil has been busy. He previously sued Columbia to block the release of student records to a congressional committee. He sued the Trump administration and several pro-Israel groups in July, accusing them of conspiring to target him. He filed a $20 million false imprisonment case against the administration. He sued for records of collusion with anti-Palestinian doxxing groups including Canary Mission. This is a one-man litigation industry — and someone is paying for it.
The lawsuit also names the pro-Palestinian group and its president, Mohammad Zubairi, as plaintiffs. Khalil promised more lawsuits to come: "Next, I will turn to the hateful individuals at Columbia who were also responsible for what we endured," he wrote.
The question isn't whether Columbia handled this well — the administration's track record is a masterclass in cowardice. The question is why American institutions keep admitting and coddling foreign radicals who turn campus life into a war zone, then sue when the bill comes due.
