Lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate and Palestinian activist who was detained by the Trump administration for months, have filed a claim for $20m in damages against the administration, alleging Khalil was falsely imprisoned, maliciously prosecuted and smeared as an antisemite as the government sought to deport him over his prominent role in campus protests.
The filing – a precursor to a lawsuit under the Federal Tort Claims Act – names the Department of Homeland Security, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the state department.
Khalil, 30, was released from US immigration detention last month after having been held for more than three months over his activism against Israel’s war on Gaza. He has become the most high-profile of the students who have been arrested by the Trump administration for their pro-Palestinian activism.
It’s a shame that if he does, the people that deserve to pay for it won’t.
I assume it’s going to come out of DHS or ICE-allotted funds.
So…I agree. Yes, it’s our tax or debt burden, and yes, that’s infuriating. But the money has already been stolen from us. Now the only question is, is that money going to be used to accelerate fascist policies like the end of due process or not?
So drain the bank, please. Every dollar for judgments or settlements is a dollar not spent on racist, unconstitutional immigration policy.
Coming out of my check I’m sure.
Waste fraud and abuse.