Khalil sues Trump officials and groups over alleged deportation plot

Mahmoud Khalil has sued senior Trump administration officials and three private organizations, alleging they worked together to target him for deportation because of his pro-Palestine advocacy. The case matters because Khalil is asking a federal court to award damages and block the alleged effort from being used in his continuing immigration case, Al Jazeera reported.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in US federal district court in Manhattan, according to Al Jazeera. It names the Heritage Foundation, Betar and Canary Mission, along with White House adviser Stephen Miller, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former and current homeland security secretaries Kristi Noem and Markwayne Mullin, and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

According to Khalil’s legal team, the Heritage Foundation produced a plan called Project Esther that sought to weaken the pro-Palestine movement in the United States by focusing on prominent non-citizens and equating pro-Palestine activism with anti-Jewish bias. The lawsuit alleges the think tank then used groups including Betar, described by Al Jazeera as a far-right Zionist youth movement, and Canary Mission, described as an anonymous monitor of pro-Palestine advocates, to identify targets.

The complaint also cites Miller’s work with the Heritage Foundation before Trump began his second term in January 2025, Al Jazeera reported. Khalil’s lawyers are seeking damages and an order preventing any part of the alleged conspiracy from supporting deportation proceedings against him.

Speaking outside the courthouse Tuesday, Khalil said the case was broader than his own treatment. “It’s about exposing the network of organisations, political actors, and institutions that work together to criminalise solidarity with Palestine and to make an example of those who refuse to stay silent,” he said, according to Al Jazeera.

Arrest and deportation fight

Khalil is a US green card holder and former Columbia University student activist for Palestinian rights, Al Jazeera reported. Federal agents arrested him on March 8, 2025, and he spent 104 days at an immigration detention center in Louisiana.

Al Jazeera reported that Khalil has challenged deportation in both federal court and immigration court. A federal judge in New Jersey ordered his release in June 2025, but the Trump administration won an appeal that rejected the federal court’s jurisdiction over the case.

A federal judge later issued a stay that bars the administration from detaining or deporting Khalil while the legal fight continues, according to Al Jazeera. The case is expected to reach the Supreme Court, Al Jazeera reported.

Khalil’s legal team has also contested the immigration court proceedings, which fall under the executive branch. His lawyers have released evidence that they say shows the case was sped up in an unusual way and have asked an immigration appeals court to review it, according to Al Jazeera.

White House response

The White House repeated its claim that Khalil gave false information during his immigration application, Al Jazeera reported. Trump administration officials have said Khalil failed to disclose past work with UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

Khalil’s lawyers deny that accusation, and UNRWA has said he was not on its payroll and was affiliated only briefly as an intern, according to Al Jazeera. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in response to the lawsuit that “Those who lie to the government to obtain entry into the United States will face justice.”

Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights and one of Khalil’s attorneys, described the alleged conduct as a “private-public partnership to single out non-citizen students who would be vulnerable to immigration laws,” Al Jazeera reported. Azmy also cited the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, a federal law aimed at conspiracies to deny constitutional rights.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.