A U.S. federal judge has halted the deportation of Badar Khan Suri, an Indian postdoctoral researcher at Georgetown University, who was detained by immigration authorities over alleged opposition to U.S. foreign policy on the Israel-Hamas conflict, CNN reported.
Suri, who was arrested outside his Virginia home on Monday night, was placed in deportation proceedings under a law that allows the U.S. Secretary of State to remove non-citizens deemed a threat to American foreign policy. His lawyer argued in court that Suri has no criminal record and is being targeted due to his wife’s Palestinian heritage and their pro-Palestinian advocacy.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had determined Suri’s visa should be canceled for foreign policy reasons. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin alleged on X that Suri had spread Hamas propaganda and had ties to a suspected terrorist linked to Hamas.
However, Suri’s legal team claims that he and his wife, Mapheze Saleh, have been wrongly accused and smeared on far-right platforms for their stance on Palestinian rights. The judge has ruled that Suri cannot be deported unless further court decisions are made.
His detention is part of a broader crackdown on individuals the Trump administration claims have engaged in “pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity.” Suri’s case has sparked debate over immigration enforcement and free speech rights under U.S. law.
