Former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil filed a complaint against the US government on Friday, four months after he was detained by ICE agents for his role in campus protests in support of Palestine. Khalil made several claims in his complaint, including false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and abuse of process.

The Center for Constitutional Rights filed the complaint on Khalil’s behalf under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). The center stated that Khalil is seeking $20 million in damages but would accept, instead, “an official apology” and an end to the administration’s “unconstitutional” use of the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA) (1952).

Secretary of State Marco Rubio authorized Khalil’s detention under Section (3)(C)(i) of the INA, which says that “[a]n alien whose entry or proposed activities in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States is inadmissible.” At the time of his detention, Khalil had already been admitted to the US and had a green card.

Rubio further claimed the authority to personally determine if a legal alien is deportable based on “the alien’s past, current, or expected beliefs, statements, or associations that are otherwise lawful.” The complaint also accused the government of detaining Khalil for political, rather than legal, reasons.

Khalil was released from federal custody on June 20 pending the outcome of his case. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues to include him on its “100 days of fighting fake news” page, last updated on April 30.  The page claims that Khalil “abused the privilege of a student visa.”