Judge Orders Release of Georgetown Researcher

UPDATE May 14, 2025 6:00 PM CDT

A federal judge on Wednesday said that the federal government had made no effort to explain why a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University should continue to be held in an immigration facility, so she ordered him released immediately. Nor did the government provide evidence for why Badar Khan Suri, a scholar from India committed to "peace and conflict resolution," might be a flight risk, said Judge Patricia Giles of the Eastern District of Virginia. Suri, who is in the US legally, spent two months in detention in Texas after the administration accused him of "spreading Hamas propaganda," the New York Times reports. "There was no charge, there was nothing," he told NBC News after his release. "They made a sub human out of me."

Mar 21, 2025 2:00 AM CDT

Badar Khan Suri, a researcher at Georgetown University and husband of a Palestinian-American woman, was detained by US immigration agents this week. Arrested Monday night outside his Virginia home, the Indian citizen was told his visa had been revoked. He's now being held in Louisiana, more than 1,000 miles from his family and attorney, the AP reports. His lawyer, Hassan Ahmad, claims the detention is linked to his wife's Palestinian identity and her constitutionally protected speech as well as his own. "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 wrote in a court filing. The Trump administration says Suri is deportable because he's been "spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media."

On Thursday, a judge temporarily blocked Suri's deportation pending the outcome of a lawsuit on the matter, the Washington Post reports. Georgetown supports Suri, who has no criminal record, stating: "We are not aware of him engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention." The statement emphasized rights to free inquiry and debate. The case comes amid similar legal battles concerning Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student activist also fighting deportation, and Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a Lebanese doctor who was deported despite having a valid visa. (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)