An Indian postdoctoral researcher at Georgetown University who has spoken out against Israel’s war in Gaza is facing deportation after being detained under United States President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, was designated for deportation for “spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism” on social media, Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said on Wednesday.
“Suri has close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas,” McLaughlin said on X.
“The Secretary of State issued a determination on March 15, 2025 that Suri’s activities and presence in the United States rendered him deportable under INA section 237(a)(4)(C)(i).”
McLaughlin did not provide evidence for her claim of ties between Suri and Hamas, the group that governs Gaza.
Nermeen Arastu, an associate law professor at CUNY School of Law who is providing Suri with legal assistance, described the academic as a “loving husband and father of young children” who “cares deeply about human rights, dignity, peace, and safety for all people”.
Arastu said agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had arrived at night to take Suri to an unknown location before transferring him to an immigration detention centre.
“This is every family’s worst nightmare. And let’s be clear; this happened to him simply because President Trump wants to silence anyone he suspects to hold a political opinion contrary to his,” Arastu told Al Jazeera.
“ICE kidnappings are not new. Every week, thousands of families are torn apart as ICE agents detain individuals without cause, often for no reason other than their political beliefs. This is part of a larger pattern of racially motivated attacks on immigrant communities under the Trump administration.”
Suri is currently being held at an ICE detention facility at Alexandria International Airport in Louisiana, according to ICE’s online detention locator.
Ahmad Hassan, a lawyer representing Suri, on Wednesday filed a petition for the researcher’s release at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, according to a court filing.
Hassan did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Al Jazeera.
Suri’s wife, Mapheze Saleh, confirmed to Al Jazeera that she is a US citizen.
She directed further questions to Suri’s legal representatives.
In a statement to Al Jazeera, a spokesperson for Georgetown University said Suri had been granted a student visa to carry out “doctoral research on peace-building in Iraq and Afghanistan”.
“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 using Suri’s name, likeness, and Georgetown University affiliation made a number of criticisms of Israel and expressions of support for the Palestinian cause.
In a post in June, the account accused India of being “an enabler of genocide” after the Palestinian-run Quds News Network posted footage purporting to show the remnants of an Israeli missile labelled “Made in India”.
“From being an ally of Palestinians, to enabler of a genocide. What a disgrace for Made in India, to supply missiles to Israel so that Palestinian children can be butchered,” the post said.
“Change of values for blood money. Shame.”
In an October 2023 post, the account said many Indians supported Israel for the “hate of Muslims”, not “for the love of Israel”.
Another post that month said that viewing Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel as the start of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict ignored history stretching back to 1948 and took away the “right to resist by all means which international laws [sic] gives to Palestinians.”
Suri’s detention comes less than two weeks after the DHS arrested Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil over his involvement in pro-Palestinian protests.
On Wednesday, a federal court ruled that Khalil, a permanent US resident, could proceed with a legal challenge against the Trump administration’s order for his deportation.
Judge Jesse Furman ruled that Khalil’s argument that his removal would violate his free speech and due process rights under the US Constitution warranted “careful review”.
