Mahmoud Khalil and seven current students sued Columbia University on Thursday in a bid to block the school from producing disciplinary records to a House committee as school officials said they were sanctioning students involved in pro-Palestinian rallies last spring.
Khalil, a green card holder and Palestinian activist who played a major role in student protests against the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, was arrested over the weekend as federal officials seek to deport him.
The suit, filed in the Southern District of New York, alleges that the committee’s request for the records violates the First Amendment and that the university’s compliance with the committee constitutes a breach of contact.
Officials from Columbia declined to comment on the pending litigation.
Just as the suit was filed, the university announced “multi-year suspensions, temporary degree revocations and expulsions” for those who participated in the occupation of Hamilton Hall at the school’s New York City campus.
The developments come as dozens of protesters calling for Khalil’s release were arrested while staging a sit-in at Trump Tower in New York City.
Last week, the Trump administration said that it would cancel nearly $400 million in federal grants to the University “due to the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”
Soon after, Columbia committed to engaging with Trump officials in the hopes of restoring the lost federal funds.
“We are reviewing the announcement from the federal agencies and pledge to work with the federal government to restore Columbia’s federal funding. We take Columbia’s legal obligations seriously and understand how serious this announcement is and are committed to combatting antisemitism and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our students, faculty, and staff,” a spokesperson for the university said last week.
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