Badar Khan Suri's deportation: Why the Indian scholar's deportation was temporarily halted by US judge

Badar Khan Suri's deportation halted by US Judge

A US Judge on Thursday temporarily halted the deportation of Donald Trump administration from deporting Indian academic Badar Khan Suri, who was arrested in the US over alleged Hamas ties.

According to a report by AFP, Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles of the Eastern District of Virginia ruled that Suri “shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the court issues a contrary order.”

Suri's lawyer demanded his release and denounced the arrest as a "targeted, retaliatory detention" that was intended "to silence, or at the very least restrict and chill, his speech" as well as that of others who "express support for Palestinian rights."

Suri was detained by immigration authorities on Monday and informed that his visa had been revoked, according to a lawsuit filed by his lawyer challenging the detention.

Suri, is an Indian-origin postdoctoral associate working at Georgetown University, was arrested outside his home in Virginia on the night of March 17, by masked Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents.

He is accused by the US Department of Homeland Security of "spreading Hamas propaganda" and maintaining "close connections to a known or suspected terrorist." These allegations have made him a central figure in the Trump administration's escalating crackdown on pro-Palestinian activists in the US.

Hassan Ahmad, the lawyer representing Suri, argued that the Indian researcher was being targeted because his wife, Mapheze Saleh, a US citizen, is of Palestinian origin and because the Trump administration believes the couple opposes American foreign policy towards Israel, according to a report by Politico.

However, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, posted on her social media platform X that Suri is a foreign exchange student who has been “actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media.” McLaughlin also claimed that Suri has close ties to “a known or suspected terrorist who is a senior advisor to Hamas.”

Suri was a foreign exchange student at Georgetown University actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media.

Suri has close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas. The Secretary of State issued a https://t.co/gU02gLAlX1 Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) March 20, 2025

Politico has also reported that Saleh's father Ahmed Yousef, served as a senior political adviser to Hamas leadership. Saleh was born in US' state Missouri, but she has spent most of her life in Gaza, after the age of 5.

While Suri, is a scholar specializing in peace and conflict studies. He completed his PhD from Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi, where his research was focused on state-building in post-conflict regions like Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to his Georgetown University profile, his work examines the potential causes that hinder cooperation among religiously diverse societies and explores ways to overcome these challenges.

Since taking office, US President Donald Trump has been deporting illegal immigrants back to their home countries. India's Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has said that between January 2025 and March 13, a total of 388 Indians has been deported to India from the US.

A total of 15,952 Indians has been deported by the US since 2009, minister of state for external affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh informed in the Rajya Sabha on March 13.