Mahmoud Khalil sues Columbia for showing 'deliberate indifference' to harassment
The pro-Palestinian activist spent months in immigration custody last year.
NEW YORK -- Mahmoud Khalil is suing Columbia University in federal court for showing "deliberate indifference" to the harassment of pro-Palestinian students like him.
Khalil alleges Columbia failed to respond to the persistent and severe harassment those students encountered because of their advocacy, despite repeatedly asking Columbia administrators for help in the days and weeks preceding his March 2025 arrest by ICE agents.
"Defendants' deliberate indifference towards this harassment enabled the coordinated, persistent doxxing of multiple PWG members and directly led to Mr. Khalil's March 8, 2025, illegal detainment and attempted deportation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement," according to the lawsuit.
As student protests continued into the Spring 2024 semester, the lawsuit said Columbia became "increasingly complicit in tolerating and fomenting a campus atmosphere that was rife with harassment," including surveillance, calling the NYPD to clear encampments and mass disciplinary proceedings of those with Arab or Muslim ancestry.
Khalil spent months in immigration custody following his detention at the campus apartment where he lived while attending graduate school.
Columbia did not respond directly to the lawsuit but said in a statement, "Creating a campus environment where every member of our community feels welcome, supported and safe is fundamental to who we are as a university."
