Mahmoud Khalil sues Columbia University for showing 'deliberate indifference' to pro-Palestinian students
Mahmoud Khalil, the pro-Palestinian activist who spent months in immigration custody following his detention last year, sued Columbia University in federal court Monday for allegedly showing "deliberate indifference" to alleged harassment of pro-Palestinian students like him.
Khalil claims Columbia failed to respond to persistent and severe harassment those students allegedly encountered because of their advocacy, despite repeatedly asking Columbia administrators for help in the days and weeks preceding his March 2025 arrest by ICE agents.
"Defendants' deliberate indifference towards this harassment enabled the coordinated, persistent doxxing of multiple PWG members and directly led to Mr. Khalil's March 8, 2025, illegal detainment and attempted deportation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement," the lawsuit said.
As student protests continued into the Spring 2024 semester, the lawsuit said Columbia became "increasingly complicit in tolerating and fomenting a campus atmosphere that was rife with harassment," including surveillance, calling the NYPD to clear encampments, and mass disciplinary proceedings of those with Arab or Muslim ancestry.
Khalil spent months in immigration custody following his detention at the campus apartment where he lived while attending graduate school.
Columbia did not respond directly to the lawsuit but said in a statement, "Creating a campus environment where every member of our community feels welcome, supported and safe is fundamental to who we are as a university."
This past April Khalil was issued a final order of removal from the Board of Immigration Appeals, which his attorneys are challenging in the courts.
