Masked immigration agents arrested a Georgetown University fellow and told him his visa had been revoked, according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. Image: AP.
(The Post News)– A Georgetown University postdoctoral researcher Badar Khan Suri from India, who voiced opposition to Israel’s actions in Gaza, is now facing deportation under President Donald Trump administration’s immigration policies. Suri, a researcher at the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, was detained by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after being designated for removal from the United States.
Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary at DHS, announced the decision on March 19, stating that Suri was being deported for allegedly spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism online. “Suri has close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas,” McLaughlin wrote on social media platform X. She added that the Secretary of State’s determination, issued on March 15, found Suri’s actions and presence in the US to be grounds for deportation under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
However, McLaughlin did not provide concrete evidence linking Suri to Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls Gaza. Suri is currently being held at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Alexandria, Louisiana. His attorney, Ahmad Hassan, filed a petition for his release at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, although no immediate comment was received from him.
Georgetown University confirmed that Suri was granted a student visa for his research, which focused on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan. A university spokesperson expressed surprise at the detention, stating that no evidence had been provided to suggest Suri had engaged in illegal activity. “We support our community members’ rights to free and open inquiry, deliberation, and debate, even if the underlying ideas may be controversial,” the spokesperson added, affirming the university’s position that the case should be adjudicated fairly by the legal system.
Several social media posts that are connected to Suri’s account and in which he expressed support for the Palestinian cause and harshly attacked Israel are at the centre of the controversy. In response to a report by the Palestinian-run Quds News Network, Suri accused India in a June 2024 post of facilitating genocide by providing Israel with weaponry. He called India’s involvement in the ongoing violence in Gaza “a disgrace” and denounced the nation’s conduct.
Mahmoud Khalil, a student at Columbia University, was arrested in early March 2025 for his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations; Suri’s arrest comes after a similar event. Since then, a federal judge has decided that Khalil, a permanent resident of the United States, may contest his deportation on the grounds of the constitutionally protected rights to free speech and fair process.
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