Pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil is taking aim at the U.S. government, seeking $20 million after he was targeted for deportation and locked up by the Trump administration.
"Mr. Khalil is seeking $20 million, which he would use to help others similarly targeted by the Trump administration and Columbia University," the Center for Constitutional Rights noted in a press release. "He would accept, in lieu of payment, an official apology and abandonment of the administration's unconstitutional policy."
The release stated, "The claim is a precursor to a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration, which he will bring under the Federal Tort Claims Act, a 1946 federal statute that allows individuals to sue the U.S. government for damages for civil law violations."
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Khalil missed the birth of his first child while he was being detained earlier this year.
The activist accuses Israel of perpetrating a genocide against Gaza.
"This is the first step towards accountability. Nothing can restore the 104 days stolen from me. The trauma, the separation from my wife, the birth of my first child that I was forced to miss. But let's be clear, the same government that targeted me for speaking out is using taxpayer dollars to fund Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza," Khalil said, according to the press release.
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Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin slammed Khalil in a statement.
"Mahmoud Khalil's claim that DHS officials branded him as an antisemite and terrorized him and his family is absurd. It was Khalil who terrorized Jewish students on campus. He 'branded' himself as antisemite through his own hateful behavior and rhetoric," McLaughlin asserted. "It is a privilege to be granted a visa or green card to live and study in the United States of America. The Trump Administration acted well within its statutory and constitutional authority to detain Khalil, as it does with any alien who advocates for violence, glorifies and supports terrorists, harasses Jews, and damages property."
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A senior State Department official noted that "there is ongoing litigation with respect to this matter. However, our position is that the actions of the United States with respect to Mahmoud Khalil were correct and necessary and fully supported both by fact and by law. It is our duty to use all available lawful tools and measures to remove aliens who violate our laws or pose a threat to our fellow citizens and communities."
Fox News' Maria Paronich contributed to this report
