Mahmoud Khalil, an Algerian citizen who faces deportation over his role in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, filed a lawsuit Monday against Columbia and the dean of his master’s degree program. The suit claims the university and dean failed to protect him and fellow demonstrators from discrimination and harassment.
Khalil was a prominent figure in Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a campus group that organized demonstrations against the university’s ties to Israel. He has been a target of federal immigration enforcement over that activism.
This is not the first legal action Khalil has taken tied to his time at Columbia. In March 2025, he sued the university and several federal lawmakers in an effort to block Columbia from turning over student disciplinary records to Congress. Lawmakers had sought those records as part of an inquiry into how universities were handling complaints of discrimination against Israeli and Jewish students.
In July 2026, Khalil filed a separate lawsuit against multiple government officials, think tanks and nonprofit organizations, alleging they conspired to have him deported.
Columbia University Apartheid Divest describes itself as working toward divestment from companies tied to Israel; the coalition includes dozens of Columbia student groups. Khalil’s attorneys have not publicly detailed further legal strategy beyond the claims outlined in Monday’s filing.
The Monday lawsuit is the latest turn in a legal battle that has drawn attention from both civil liberties advocates and critics of campus protest movements, as Khalil continues to face potential removal from the United States while pursuing claims under U.S. civil rights and constitutional law.
