An Indian postdoctoral researcher at Georgetown University, known for his pro-Palestinian advocacy, has been detained by United States authorities and faces deportation amid President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Badar Khan Suri, a fellow at Georgetown’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, has been accused of “spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism,” according to Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“Suri has close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas,” McLaughlin said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.
She further claimed that the US Secretary of State determined on March 15, 2025, that Suri’s activities warranted deportation under section 237(a)(4)(C)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. However, no evidence supporting these allegations has been publicly disclosed.
Suri is currently being held at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility at Alexandria International Airport in Louisiana, according to online records.
His legal representative, Ahmad Hassan, has challenged the detention, filing a petition at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Hassan has yet to issue a public statement regarding the case.
A spokesperson for Georgetown University, in a statement to Al Jazeera, said that Suri was conducting doctoral research on peace-building in Iraq and Afghanistan under a valid student visa.
“We are not aware of him engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention,” the spokesperson said. “We support our community members’ rights to free and open inquiry, deliberation, and debate, even if the underlying ideas may be difficult, controversial, or objectionable. We expect the legal system to adjudicate this case fairly.”
An X account associated with Suri contains posts critical of Israel and in support of the Palestinian cause. In June 2024, one post accused India of “enabling genocide” after footage from the Palestinian-run Quds News Network purportedly showed the remnants of an Israeli missile labeled “Made in India.”
“From being an ally of Palestinians to an enabler of a genocide. What a disgrace for ‘Made in India,’ supplying missiles to Israel so that Palestinian children can be butchered,” Suri’s post read.
Another post from October 2023 suggested that many Indians support Israel not out of “love for Israel” but due to “hate of Muslims.”
Suri’s detention follows similar actions by the Trump administration against pro-Palestinian activists in the US. Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil was also arrested for participating in campus protests. However, a federal court recently ruled that Khalil, a US permanent resident, could proceed with a legal challenge against his deportation, with Judge Jesse Furman stating that his case required “careful review” under the US Constitution’s free speech and due process protections.
