Lawsuit filed against Columbia University
Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student and pro-Palestinian activist, filed a lawsuit on Monday against Columbia University and Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo, alleging discrimination and harassment against Palestinian students. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York City, accuses the university of failing to address harassment and of retaliating against students who reported it.
The complaint alleges Columbia's "deliberate indifference" led to the doxing of several students and contributed to Khalil's detention by immigration agents in 2025. Khalil, who led a 2024 encampment protest against Israel's military campaign in Gaza, said the university's actions amounted to "institutional racism" against Palestinian students.
"We are suing because no student, regardless of their background, should go through the hell that Columbia put us through over all these years," Khalil said in announcing the lawsuit.
The lawsuit is being brought in collaboration with the Palestine Working Group (PWG), a student organization at Columbia advocating for Palestinian rights, whose activities were indefinitely suspended by the university.
Allegations of harassment and retaliation
According to the lawsuit, Khalil reported harassment to Columbia prior to October 7, 2023, but the university failed to respond adequately. The complaint claims Columbia's lack of response directly led to Khalil's detainment and attempted deportation in 2025 by the administration of then-President Donald Trump.
Khalil alleged that Columbia launched a secretive office, the Office of Institutional Equity, that he claims harassed pro-Palestinian students. He described it as a "Gestapo-like office" whose only role was to "harass me and other pro-Palestine students, to intimidate us not to speak out for Palestine."
He also claimed that Columbia hired private investigators who contacted him during class to question whether he attended certain events. The lawsuit further alleges that Columbia retaliated by characterizing events by a pro-Palestinian campus group as security risks and revising disciplinary rules to target criticism of Israel.
Khalil accused the university of "discrimination aimed at intimidating Palestinian students" and alleged that administrators became increasingly complicit in tolerating and fomenting a campus atmosphere rife with harassment as protests continued into spring 2024.
Columbia's response
Columbia declined to comment on the lawsuit, but a university spokeswoman said: "Creating a campus environment where every member of our community feels welcome, supported, and safe is a responsibility Columbia takes seriously." The university has not made a formal response to the lawsuit itself.
Legal background
Khalil's lawsuit comes after a series of legal battles over his detention. In September 2025, a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration had unlawfully targeted pro-Palestinian activists with deportation. However, in January 2026, an appeals court panel dismissed Khalil's petition in a two-to-one ruling.
In July 2026, Khalil filed a separate lawsuit against Trump administration officials. The new lawsuit against Columbia also follows an earlier suit Khalil filed in March 2025, less than a week after his arrest, challenging the disclosure of disciplinary records to immigration authorities.
Khalil, who was a graduate student at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), warned of more lawsuits to come, saying he will "turn to the hateful individuals at Columbia responsible for what he endured."
"Columbia did not care," he said.
Khalil said Columbia President Jennifer Mnookin must "do the right thing" and end discrimination against Palestinian students and their allies.