A legal battle is unfolding in New York as Mahmoud Khalil takes on the federal government and several private organizations. The lawsuit accuses them of working together to silence criticism of Israel by targeting pro-Palestinian supporters.
Filed on Tuesday in a federal court, the lawsuit claims a coalition involving high-ranking officials from the Trump administration, the Heritage Foundation, and surveillance groups Canary Mission and Betar. This alliance allegedly aimed to suppress pro-Palestinian voices.
Khalil’s legal team suggests this collaboration could potentially infringe on the Ku Klux Klan Act, legislation from the Reconstruction era intended to limit governmental collaboration with vigilante groups. The existence of this “public-private partnership” was highlighted during a separate case last year.
Inquiries for comments from the Heritage Foundation, Canary Mission, and Betar went unanswered as of Tuesday.
Mahmoud Khalil, once a graduate student at Columbia University, gained recognition for his activism against Israel’s actions in Gaza. His arrest in March 2025 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at his campus apartment highlighted a broader crackdown on pro-Palestinian demonstrators by the Trump administration.
Following his arrest, Khalil spent 104 days in an immigration detention facility in Louisiana, missing the birth of his first child. A federal judge in New Jersey eventually ordered his release.
Khalil’s deportation proceedings have notably progressed swiftly through the immigration court system and could potentially reach the U.S. Supreme Court. He continues to refute accusations that his activism equates to antisemitism.
He has stated, “My beliefs are not wanting my tax money or tuition going toward investments in weapons manufacturers for a genocide.” His stance, as he conveyed to The Associated Press, is straightforward.
