Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist who was detained by U.S. immigration authorities for more than 100 days, is seeking $20 million from the Trump administration over what he says was his false imprisonment and malicious prosecution, Reuters reported.
Khalil’s lawyers on Thursday said they submitted the claim against President Donald Trump's departments of Homeland Security and State under a law requiring people to seek damages directly from the government before they can file a lawsuit. Officials have six months to respond.
A DHS spokesperson called Khalil's claim "absurd" and said the Trump administration acted well within its legal authority to detain Khalil.
Khalil, a 30-year-old permanent U.S. resident of Palestinian descent, was arrested in March and detained for months while the Trump administration sought to deport him, saying his support of Palestinians undermined U.S. relations with Israel, according to Reuters.
