Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian activist whose 2025 arrest as a Columbia University graduate student attracted widespread national attention, is suing a coalition of private organizations and high-level Trump administration officials for allegedly conspiring against him.

Khalil, a lawful permanent U.S. resident, filed the federal civil rights lawsuit on Monday in the Southern District of New York, accusing the defendants more specifically of conspiring to punish him and other pro-Palestinian voices through arrest, detention and deportation.

The complaint is being brought under the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 (42 U.S.C. § 1985(3)). 

It alleges the defendants – including the Heritage Foundation; officials of the conservative-leaning think tank Victoria Coates and Robert Greenway; Zionist organizations; the Canary Mission; and federal officials such as Trump White House aide Stephen Miller, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche of forming a “public-private partnership” to suppress constitutionally protected advocacy for Palestinian rights.

According to the filing, the alleged conspiracy originated with the Heritage Foundation’s “Project Esther” blueprint, which outlined plans to identify, smear, and facilitate the removal of non-citizen students and scholars supporting Palestinian causes by labeling their activism as antisemitic or supportive of terrorism.

Private groups such as Canary Mission are accused of doxxing targets and coordinating with federal officials to trigger visa revocations, arrests, and expedited deportation proceedings.

Khalil, who served as a mediator during Columbia University protests, claims he was specifically targeted for his prominent role. He was arrested by ICE in March 2025 outside his apartment, detained for 104 days in a remote Louisiana facility, and later released by a federal court that found his detention presumptively unconstitutional. The suit describes ongoing efforts to deport him through allegedly corrupt immigration proceedings.

Rubio alleged as reason for Khalil's deportation that his pro-Palestinian campus protests and presence in the U.S. threatened foreign policy goals.

The complaint seeks damages, declaratory relief, and an injunction to halt further retaliatory actions.