Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student and legal permanent resident of the US, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, July 14th, 2026, against officials from the Trump administration and several pro-Israel groups. The lawsuit alleges a conspiracy to suppress criticism of Israel by targeting supporters of Palestinian rights through doxing, detention, and deportation efforts.

The complaint, filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights on Khalil's behalf, claims that senior Trump administration officials coordinated with pro-Israel online surveillance groups Betar and Canary Mission to select "targets of the conspiracy." Betar US publicly took credit for Khalil's arrest and reportedly submitted thousands of names to the administration for similar actions.

Khalil became a prominent figure in the Trump administration's crackdown on pro-Palestinian speech after his arrest in March 2025 by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at his Columbia University apartment. He was detained for 104 days in a Louisiana immigration facility, during which he missed the birth of his first child, before a federal judge ordered his release.

Peter Hatch, a senior official within ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division, testified that ICE assembled a team dedicated to investigating student protesters, compiling over 100 reports based on a list of 5,000 individuals identified on the Canary Mission website.

Khalil’s lawsuit also implicates the Heritage Foundation as part of the alleged coordinated campaign. His legal team suggests this "public-private partnership" may violate the Ku Klux Klan Act, a Reconstruction-era law restricting government collaboration with vigilante groups.

Khalil is currently fighting the government's deportation efforts, which have moved swiftly through immigration courts and may reach the US Supreme Court. He has stated, "My beliefs are not wanting my tax money or tuition going toward investments in weapons manufacturers for a genocide. It’s as simple as that."

Inquiries to the Heritage Foundation, Canary Mission, and Betar were not immediately returned.

Sources