Mahmoud Khalil and other Columbia University students are suing the university and a Republican-led House committee to prevent members of Congress from accessing thousands of student records related to pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses.
Khalil, a prominent student organizer, is currently detained in Louisiana and being processed for deportation following his surprise arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
He is a lawful permanent resident with a green card who has not been charged or accused of any crimes; however, Donald Trump and federal law enforcement officials have labeled him a threat to national security who should be deported for “pro-Hamas” activities.
Last month, the Republican-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce demanded that Columbia produce student disciplinary records related to campus demonstrations, warning that if the school did not comply, it would lose federal funds.
Lawyers for Khalil and other student plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in New York on Thursday, claiming that the committee’s letter violates students’ First Amendment rights by exposing them to negative publicity, harassment, and threats to their safety.
They claim that Republicans are “jawboning,” in which government officials use bullying institutions and organizations to do their work for them when they have run out of options.
Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, the university announced that students involved in the occupation of a campus building last fall would face “multi-year suspensions, temporary degree revocations, and expulsions.”
The Independent has contacted both the university and the committee for comment.
“Columbia University’s apparent willingness to comply with the Congressional request to disclose private student records sets a dangerous precedent that undermines academic freedom and student privacy,” Khalil’s attorney, Amy Greer of Dratel & Lewis, said in a statement.
“Our lawsuit seeks to protect students’ constitutional rights, as they should not be subjected to political intimidation or intrusive government intervention. We will continue to fight for every student’s privacy and dignity.
The lawsuit, supported by the Council on American Islamic Relations, targets the committee’s letter on “antisemitic harassment and intimidation,” in which attorneys incorrectly conflate First Amendment-protected protests against Israel’s war in Gaza in an attempt to make “instrumentalized accusations of antisemitism to attack ideas it ideologically opposes.”
“Antisemitism, like all other forms of hatred and discrimination, is unacceptable and must be addressed. This issue’s urgency is not in dispute. However, the records requested by the committee are not significantly related to antisemitism,” they wrote.
According to the lawsuit, the committee uses anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and Islamophobic dog whistles to justify unjustifiable First Amendment violations.
The Trump administration has already taken $400 million from the university, which the plaintiffs believe is part of the administration’s efforts “to chill and punish protected speech and protest activity,” according to lawyers.
Plaintiffs claimed that the records sought by the committee contain “demographic, academic, and financial information, and at most, personally identifying information, student group affiliations and associations, and related private information that could be and have been used to harass, make threats against, and dox the individuals whose records are turned over to the committee, and whose personal privacy and safety would be jeopardized by the committee’s politically charged investment
Lawyers for Khalil are asking a judge to return him to New York as they pursue a legal challenge to his release, which has sparked international outrage and raised concerns about threats to First Amendment-protected dissent. Government lawyers have asked a judge to dismiss the challenge or transfer the case to Louisiana.
