Mahmoud Khalil Seeks to Challenge Government’s Retaliatory, Post-Facto Charges Against Him in Federal Court
The preliminary injunction motion argues that the government’s post-hoc charge against Mr. Khalil was retaliatory and violates the First Amendment
Following Mahmoud Khalil’s historic release on June 20, 2025, his legal team today filed a motion challenging the government's attempts to detain and deport him based on a second immigration charge regarding alleged misrepresentations on his green card application as unconstitutional. The new motion argues that the government’s post-hoc charge, which it levied one week after Mr. Khalil filed his habeas petition, was retaliatory and violated Mr. Khalil’s First Amendment and Fifth Amendment due process rights.
This action follows a couple significant rulings in June. First, the Court held that the original charges the government brought against Mr. Khalil — the “foreign policy ground” — were likely unconstitutional and blocked his detention on that basis. The government then shifted its justification for detention to the post-hoc charges. The following week, Judge Michael E. Farbiarz ordered Mr. Khalil's release, emphasizing that detention on such charges is extremely rare and affirming that he posed no danger or threat to the public. (The government has appealed both rulings, and is seeking to pause the release order in the appellate court.)
The court has not yet formally blocked the second misrepresentation charge, as the motion now asks the court to do.
Mr. Khalil, who the Trump administration detained for his speech in support of Palestinian rights, suffered in a remote detention facility in Jena, Louisiana for over three months — more than 1,400 miles from his legal team, wife, and newborn son. Before the government issued these late-filed allegations against Mr. Khalil, their immigration case rested entirely on Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s foreign policy “determination,” which the federal court has now blocked.
Below are quotes from Mr. Khalil’s legal team:
“The Trump administration’s baseless, after-the-fact charges against Mahmoud Khalil are nothing more than further retaliation for his outspoken advocacy for Palestinian human rights,” said Amy Belsher, Director of Immigrants’ Rights Litigation at the NYCLU. “These flimsy accusations only reveal the targeted nature of his arrest and the ongoing attempts to silence and remove him. It’s past time the government gave up its unlawful attacks on Mahmoud and his family.”
“The government has gone to extraordinary and outrageous lengths in its attempt to silence Mahmoud Khalil, including leveling unsubstantiated and retaliatory charges against him,” said Liza Weisberg, Թֱ-NJ Senior Staff Attorney. “We will continue to defend Mr. Khalil’s freedom as he is targeted for his advocacy in support of Palestinian rights, and we are confident he will ultimately prevail."
"The government is using these trumped up charges to continue punishing Mahmoud Khalil for his political beliefs," said Brian Hauss, senior staff attorney with the Թֱ's Speech, Privacy & Technology Project. "This is textbook retaliation. The First Amendment squarely prohibits the government from abusing its powers to suppress dissent."
Mr. Khalil is represented by Dratel & Lewis, the Center for Constitutional Rights, CLEAR, Van Der Hout LLP, Washington Square Legal Services, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), the Թֱ of New Jersey, the Թֱ of Louisiana, and the Թֱ (Թֱ).