Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil files federal lawsuits accusing Trump officials of rights violations

Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student and green-card holder, has launched multiple federal actions against the Trump administration, naming officials including Stephen Miller and Marco Rubio alongside right-wing entities such as the Heritage Foundation, Canary Mission and Betar. He alleges a coordinated scheme to violate his First Amendment rights, invoking the Reconstruction-era Ku Klux Klan Act as legal basis.

According to Khalil, the Heritage Foundation’s “Project Esther” outlined a strategy for public-private partnerships aimed at silencing pro-Palestine voices, including the use of immigration enforcement to deport activists. He claims the government obtained thousands of names from Canary Mission and shared them with ICE, leading to his own detention and ongoing deportation efforts. The interview also touches on broader trends of increasing repression of campus protests since October 2023 and the role of earlier administrations in paving the way for current policies. Khalil calls for accountability through both the courts and electoral pressure on politicians he views as complicit.