By Kanishka Singh and Jack Queen
WASHINGTON/ NEW YORK (Reuters) – A student from India studying at Georgetown University in Washington has been detained by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and is facing deportation on accusations of posing a threat to U.S. foreign policy, as per the student’s attorney on Wednesday.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has alleged that Badar Khan Suri has ties to the Palestinian group Hamas and has spread Hamas propaganda and antisemitism on social media, as reported in a statement shared with Fox News. The DHS statement did not provide evidence, but stated that Secretary of State Marco Rubio found Suri’s actions grounds for deportation.
Suri, who resides in the U.S. on a student visa and is married to an American citizen, has been apprehended in Alexandria, Louisiana, and is awaiting an immigration court hearing, his lawyer mentioned. He was arrested by federal agents outside his residence in Rosslyn, Virginia, on Monday evening.
This incident occurs amidst Trump’s efforts to deport individuals who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations against Israel’s military actions in Gaza after a Hamas attack in October 2023. The administration’s actions have drawn criticism from civil rights and immigrant advocacy organizations, who claim that political dissenters are being unfairly targeted.
Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, has been featured in Politico. His lawyer pointed out, “If a scholarly figure focusing on conflict resolution is deemed detrimental to foreign policy, then the issue may lie with the government and not the scholar.”
Georgetown University stated that they have not been provided a reason for Suri’s detention and are unaware of any illicit activity by him. Suri’s spouse, Mapheze Saleh, is a U.S. citizen with connections to Gaza, as per the university website.
Suri, a Ph.D. holder in peace and conflict studies from an Indian university, has been instructing a course on “Majoritarianism and Minority Rights in South Asia” this semester at Georgetown. Earlier this month, another student, Mahmoud Khalil from Columbia University, faced arrest and deportation over his involvement in pro-Palestinian protests, which he is challenging in court.
Trump has accused Khalil of supporting Hamas without evidence, whereas Khalil’s legal representatives refute any ties to the group labeled as a “foreign terrorist organization” by the U.S.
Allegations of antisemitism against pro-Palestinian demonstrators have been rebutted by advocates, including some Jewish groups, who assert that criticism of Israeli actions in Gaza and advocacy for Palestinian rights are distinct from antisemitism.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Jack Queen in New York; editing by Michelle Nichols and Michael Perry)
