(Courthouse News) After 104 days in federal immigration custody, a stint that forced him to miss the birth of his first child, Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil is seeking $20 million from the Trump administration for his “politically motivated arrest,” according to his legal team.
On Thursday, Khalil filed an administrative claim against the State Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security, arguing that he was subjected to false arrest, malicious prosecution and more than three months of false imprisonment following his March 8 detention in New York City.
“This is the first step towards accountability,” Khalil said in a statement Thursday. “Nothing can restore the 104 days stolen from me. The trauma, the separation from my wife, the birth of my first child that I was forced to miss. But let’s be clear, the same government that targeted me for speaking out is using taxpayer dollars to fund Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
