A federal judge on Thursday ordered US immigration officials not to deport Indian research scholar Badar Khan Suri, who was detained earlier this week by the Trump administration. Suri’s legal team is fighting for his immediate release, arguing that he is being targeted for his academic work and personal beliefs rather than any actual wrongdoing.
“Badar Khan Suri shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the Court issues a contrary order,” US district judge Patricia Tolliver Giles in Virginia’s Alexandria ordered.
Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, was arrested outside his home in Virginia on Monday night. According to Politico, “masked agents” took him into custody, and he is “expected to be transferred soon to a detention centre in Texas.”
His lawyer, Hassan Ahmad, says the government has not shown any proof of criminal activity. “Dr Suri is an academic, not an activist,” Ahmad wrote in a court filing. “But he spoke out on social media about his views on the Israel-Gaza war. Even more so, his wife is an outspoken critic of the Israeli government and the violence it has perpetrated against Palestinians.”
Also read:What is Indian-origin Badar Khan Suri’s alleged connection to Hamas? Here’s what we know
Suri has no criminal record and holds a valid visa as a visiting scholar. His wife, Mapheze Saleh, is a US citizen. Ahmad argued that the government is targeting Suri “because of the Palestinian heritage of his wife – who is a US citizen – and because the government suspects that he and his wife oppose US foreign policy toward Israel.”
“The Trump Administration has openly expressed its intention to weaponize immigration law to punish noncitizens whose views are deemed critical of US policy as it relates to Israel,” Ahmad said in the petition.
US authorities claim Suri has “close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas.” A department of homeland security official said Suri was “actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media.” The Secretary of State determined on March 15, 2025, that “Suri’s activities and presence in the United States rendered him deportable.”
Also read:‘Badar Luck’: Indian scholar faces deportation over Hamas links
Democratic US Representative Don Beyer, who represents the district where Suri was detained, condemned the scholar’s detention as unlawful in a statement on Thursday, urging the court to review his case.
“The justification given for these violations of Mr Suri’s right to due process is itself another violation of the Constitution— a blatant attack on the First Amendment,” Beyer said. “Mr Suri and his family are the latest victims of President Trump’s assault on free speech.”
A Politico reported that Suri’s wife Saleh’s father, Ahamed Yousef, was once a deputy foreign minister in the Hamas government in Gaza. The article quoted Suri as saying, “My father-in-law left the Hamas government after its five-year term ended and there were no fresh elections.”
However, Saleh was born in US’ state Missouri but she spent most of her life in Gaza, after the age of 5.
This case comes after another recent incident where Indian student Ranjani Srinivasan left the US after her visa was revoked. Authorities accused her of “advocating for violence and terrorism” and supporting Hamas.
Suri’s legal team has filed a lawsuit demanding his release. “The agents identified themselves as being with the department of homeland security and told him the government had revoked his visa,” the lawsuit states. Ahmad says he has not yet been able to speak with Suri. “We’re trying to speak with him. That hasn’t happened yet,” he said. “This is just another example of our government abducting people the same way they abducted Khalil.”
Suri is a scholar specialising in peace and conflict studies. He earned his PhD from Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi, focusing on state-building in post-conflict areas such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
His Georgetown University profile states that his research looks at “potential causes that hinder cooperation among religiously diverse societies and possibilities to overcome those hindrances.”
A Georgetown spokesperson said, “Suri is an Indian national who was duly granted a visa to enter the United States to continue his doctoral research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan. We are not aware of him engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention. We support our community members’ rights to free and open inquiry, deliberation and debate, even if the underlying ideas may be difficult, controversial or objectionable. We expect the legal system to adjudicate this case fairly.”
