A federal judge in Virgina ordered the immediate release of Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University, who faced deportation efforts under the Trump administration and had been held for months by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accused him of “spreading Hamas propaganda” and promoting antisemitic content on social media.
U.S. District Judge Patricia Giles ruled Wednesday that Khan Suri, an Indian national, be released on bond as his detention violated both his First Amendment right to free speech and his Fifth Amendment right to due process. Khan Suri had been confined at the Prairieland Detention Center in Texas after ICE arrested him on March 17.
Khan Suri’s arrest was part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to crack down on pro-Palestinian activists, including foreign students. Immigration authorities had revoked his J-1 student visa, claiming his father-in-law, Ahmed Yousef, once served as an adviser to Hamas leadership over ten years ago. Officials further accused Khan Suri of being deportable due to his pro-Palestinian social media posts. Yousef has clarified that his advisory role ended more than a decade ago and insisted that Khan Suri was never involved in political advocacy for Hamas.
Suri’s wife, Maphaz Ahmad Yousef, is also a Georgetown student and an American citizen originally from Gaza. Following the court’s decision, she shared her emotional reaction with reporters: “Her words [Judge Giles] brought me to tears. I wish I could personally thank her with a hug.”
Khan Suri is a senior postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. Back in March, Judge Giles had already issued an emergency order blocking federal officials from deporting Khan Suri after his wife filed an urgent court request. After Wednesday’s ruling, Khan Suri is now free to reunite with his family and resume his academic work.
Suri said in a public statement: “I came here to build a life with my family — to work, go home, and raise my kids. And yet, they came, took me away, and shattered that life. I’ve studied injustices throughout my career. I just never imagined I’d experience this kind of injustice here.”
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