Khalil v. The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York

Summary

Between April 17, 2024, and January 2025, Mahmoud Khalil, then a graduate student at Columbia University, participated in pro Palestinian demonstrations on campus during a broader wave of student protests related to the Israel Gaza conflict. During that period, Columbia University and Barnard College investigated and imposed disciplinary measures on multiple students in connection with protest activity, including building occupations and disruptions of university operations.

Khalil’s legal matters entered multiple forums in early 2025. On March 7, 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested him in New York, alleging that he had overstayed his visa. He was placed into immigration detention, and removal proceedings were initiated. Less than a week later, on March 13, 2025, Khalil and seven current Columbia students filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against Columbia University and Barnard College. The complaint sought declaratory and injunctive relief and $20 million in damages, and aimed to block the universities from producing student disciplinary records in response to a request from the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce. The committee stated that the records were sought as part of an investigation into alleged antisemitic incidents associated with campus protests. The plaintiffs alleged that disclosure of the records would violate the First Amendment and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

The district court intervened later that month. On March 20, 2025, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order barring Columbia and Barnard from turning over the requested disciplinary records, maintaining the status quo while the legal issues were considered. That restraint was later narrowed. In a ruling issued on April 4, 2025, the court concluded that Columbia was required to comply with a narrower request from a Senate committee seeking disciplinary records limited to pro Palestinian protest activity occurring between April 2024 and January 2025, while the broader House request remained unresolved.

Khalil’s immigration case progressed in parallel. In May 2025, an immigration judge ordered him removed from the United States, and the Department of Homeland Security stated that he was likely to be deported to Algeria. Khalil appealed the removal order. After more than three months in custody, he was released on June 20, 2025, when a federal judge in Newark granted him bond, finding no evidence that he posed a danger to the community or a risk to national security and citing irregularities in the government’s handling of his detention.

However, on January 15, 2026, a federal appeals court reversed the Newark judge’s order, concluding that the court lacked jurisdiction to grant release while immigration proceedings were ongoing. On January 22, 2026, Department of Homeland Security officials stated publicly that, following the appeals court decision, Khalil was likely to be deported to Algeria. As of early 2026, the federal civil lawsuit against Columbia University and Barnard College remained pending.