A U.S. federal judge has issued a ruling stopping the deportation of Georgetown researcher Badar Khan Suri, who was arrested by U.S. immigration officials last week. Suri is a visiting scholar at Georgetown University and an Indian native who had been accused of spreading Hamas propaganda and antisemitism by the Trump Administration through social media posts.
United States District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles, in Alexandria, Virginia, decided Thursday that Suri “shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the Court issues a contrary order.” This decision essentially stalls any possible instant deportation of Suri pending the court’s review of his case.
Suri’s attorney, Hassan Ahmad, asserted that the U.S. government targeted his client for his views of the Israel-Gaza War and his wife’s political views as a Palestinian-American, an activist who was outspoken in her condemnation of the Israeli government. Ahmad said there was no evidence Suri was guilty of anything and that the detention of Suri breached his constitutional right to free speech and due process.
“Dr. Suri is an academic, not an activist,” Ahmad declared in his court filing. He stated that Suri posted on social media concerning the Israel-Gaza war and that was constitutionally protected speech. Suri, with no criminal history and an active visa as a visiting scholar, has a wife who is a U.S. citizen.
The action by the Trump Administration to arrest and attempt to deport Suri is while he faced accusations he had been spreading Hamas propaganda and antisemitism, and Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin charged him so on social media site X. It is here, McLaughlin stated, that the Secretary of State’s office concluded Suri was to be deported based on these accusations.
Suri was arrested last evening outside his home in Virginia, where he resides with his wife and three young children. The arrest reveals conflicts over the employment of speech on U.S. campuses in general and critical speech on campuses of U.S. policy toward the Middle East in particular.
