World
India
Badar Khan Suri, an Indian national and postdoctoral researcher at Georgetown University, has been detained by U.S. federal immigration authorities. Suri, who is married to a U.S. citizen, was arrested at his home in Rosslyn, Virginia, by masked agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), according to a lawsuit filed by his attorney.
DHS Alleges Links to Hamas
Suri specializes in peace and conflict studies and holds a Ph.D. from an Indian university. He is currently affiliated with Georgetown’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. According to the lawsuit, DHS agents informed him that his student visa had been revoked without prior notice.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has accused Suri of having ties to the Palestinian militant group Hamas. In a statement to Fox News, DHS alleged that Suri had spread Hamas propaganda and antisemitic content on social media. Additionally, a spokesperson claimed that he maintained “close connections” to a senior Hamas adviser.
As a result, Secretary of State Marco Rubio deemed him deportable under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Legal Challenge for Badar Khan Suri
Suri’s attorney has filed a Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Eastern District of Virginia, contesting his detention. The petition argues that Suri is being unfairly targeted due to his wife’s Palestinian heritage and her advocacy for Palestinian rights. According to Politico, Suri’s wife, a U.S. citizen originally from Gaza, has previously written for Al Jazeera and worked with the Palestinian foreign ministry, as per Georgetown’s website.
According to The New York Times, Suri’s lawyer is also examining whether the accusations stem from his father-in-law’s past political affiliations. The Times reported that Suri’s father-in-law, a former adviser to Hamas’ late political chief Ismail Haniyeh, stated that he left his position in the Hamas government more than a decade ago. He also asserted that Suri is not involved in any political activism.
Georgetown University Responds to Badar Khan Suri Arrest
Georgetown University has stated that it has no knowledge of any illegal activity by Suri. “Dr. Khan Suri was duly granted a visa to conduct doctoral research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan,” a university spokesperson said. “We expect the legal system to adjudicate this case fairly.”
Suri’s academic background includes a doctorate in Peace and Conflict Studies from the Nelson Mandela Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, which he completed in 2020. His doctoral thesis, titled Transitional Democracy, Divided Societies and Prospects for Peace: A Study of State Building in Afghanistan and Iraq, examines the complexities of introducing democracy in ethnically diverse societies and the challenges of state-building efforts.
Current Detention and Broader Implications
Suri is currently being held at a detention facility near Alexandria International Airport in Louisiana, as per Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) records.
His arrest comes amid broader immigration policies under the Trump administration, which has detained and sought to deport noncitizens accused of being Hamas sympathizers. The administration has framed these actions as measures to protect national security, while civil rights advocates argue that legal immigrants are being targeted for their political views, potentially infringing upon their First Amendment rights.
