Mahmoud Khalil files $20M claim over ICE detention

What happened

Palestinian rights activist Mahmoud Khalil Thursday began the process of suing President Donald Trump's administration for $20 million.

A claim filed by his lawyers alleges that Khalil was "falsely imprisoned, maliciously prosecuted and smeared as an antisemite" following his March 8 arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, said The Associated Press.

Who said what

The suit is "just the first step of accountability," Khalil told NBC News. The White House "has to pay for what it's doing against me or against anyone who opposes their fascist agenda." Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Khalil's suit was "absurd" and accused him of "hateful behavior and rhetoric."

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Any settlement won by Khalil "would be shared with others he claimed were targeted by the Trump administration's efforts to subdue pro-Palestinian speech," said Forbes. This is the "first damages complaint" brought by an individual targeted in the "crackdown" on noncitizen Gaza war protesters, the Center for Constitutional Rights, which is representing Khalil, said in a statement. Khalil's case, and the administration's "tug-of-war with courts" over his detention, "represents a historic test for immigrants' speech rights," said Axios.

What next?

Thursday's filing, officially a "notice of claim for damages," is the "precursor to a lawsuit under the Federal Tort Claims Act," said the AP. Khalil, who was released on bail after 104 days in ICE detention, said he would also accept an "official apology and abandonment of the administration's unconstitutional policy."