The Center for Constitional Rights seeks damages from the United States government pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”) on behalf of Mahmoud Khalil. The adminstrative claim describes serious wrongs committed by U.S. officials, including subjecting Mr. Khalil to: (1) false arrest, (2) false imprisonment, (3) malicious prosecution, (4) abuse of process (5) intentional infliction of emotional distress, and (6) negligent infliction of emotional distress. These harms are the result of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s ad hoc and conclusory determination (the “Rubio Determination”) that Mr. Khalil’s presence and activities in the United States posed serious adverse foreign policy consequences and would compromise a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest. The unprecedented use of the Rubio Determination against student activists like Mr. Khalil has been found likely unconstitutional under the First Amendment and/or the Due Process Clause by numerous federal courts, because the Determination was deployed as a part of a Policy targeting noncitizens who participated in protests critical of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the United States’ support for it. Under this unconstitutional Policy, Secretary of State Rubio enabled the Department of Homeland Security to unlawfully arrest, detain and deport protestors whose lawful protected speech the administration simply disagrees with—as he did with Mr. Khalil.

President Trump, Secretary Rubio, and DHS officials all boastfully proclaimed their intentional targeting of Mr. Khalil for deportation, describing Mr. Khalil’s arrest as the first step in a broader campaign to deport campus protesters. Effectively, the United States deployed the Rubio Determination not for any bona fide law enforcement activity, but solely for the purpose of punishment and repression of activists who vocally criticized U.S. support for Israel’s military onslaught in Gaza.

As a direct result of this unlawful conduct by U.S. officials, Mr. Khalil was deprived of his liberty. ICE officials undertook an unlawful and warrantless arrest of Mr. Khalil and transported him over long distances, all while being denied access to his attorney. He was imprisoned—unlawfully—in a remote ICE detention facility in Louisiana for over three months. During that time, he was separated from his wife, who was eight months pregnant at the time of his arrest. He missed the birth of his son while in detention, and remained separated from his newborn for the first two months of his son’s life. Following Mr. Khalil’s unlawful, retaliatory arrest, officials at the highest levels of the United States government publicly lashed out at Mr. Khalil on social media, falsely labeling him a terrorist sympathizer and an anti-semite—derogatory charges designed to destroy Mr. Khalil’s reputation, put him in physical danger and cause extreme emotional distress.

The abusive and unlawful conduct by U.S. officials, from unlawful arrest to unlawful prolonged detention, have caused and will continue to cause Mr. Khalil severe emotional distress, economic hardship, and damage to his reputation. Mr. Khalil seeks an award of damages to compensate for the harms he has suffered.