Islamabad, March 20: U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has accused an Indian man studying at Georgetown University, Badar Khan Suri, of having ties to Hamas, a group the U.S. designates as a foreign terrorist organization.
As a result, Suri is being detained and faces deportation. According to Suri’s lawyer, the DHS claims he spread Hamas’s propaganda and anti-Semitic content on social media, though no specific evidence has been presented.
Suri, who resides in the U.S. on a student visa and is married to a U.S. citizen, was arrested outside his home in Rosslyn, Virginia, on Monday night and is currently being held in Alexandria, Louisiana.
He awaits his immigration court date. The DHS’s statement, which was shared with Fox News, was also reposted by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.
The statement cited U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s determination that Suri’s activities made him deportable, though it did not mention any solid evidence linking him directly to Hamas.
This development comes amid President Donald Trump’s efforts to target foreign nationals who took part in pro-Palestinian protests against Israel’s offensive in Gaza following the October 2023 Hamas attack.
Read More: Pakistani Senior Diplomat Denied Access to USA
These efforts have led to significant backlash from civil rights and immigrant advocacy groups, who argue that the Trump administration is unfairly targeting political opponents.
Suri is a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding.
Suri’s Family
He teaches conflict resolution and has a Ph.D. in peace and conflict studies from an Indian university.
Georgetown University, where Suri has worked, stated that it had not received any formal justification for his detention and is unaware of him being involved in any illegal activities.
Suri’s wife, Mapheze Saleh, is a U.S. citizen and originally from Gaza. Saleh has worked with Palestinian media outlets and the Gaza foreign ministry but has not been arrested.
Also Read: Hundreds, Including Pakistanis, Expelled from the US
In another similar case, earlier this month, the Trump administration also arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a student at Columbia University, for his participation in pro-Palestinian protests.
Other Similar Cases
Like Suri, Khalil is accused by the administration of supporting Hamas, although his legal team firmly denies any such ties.
The legal proceedings in his case are ongoing, and he is currently challenging his detention in court.
Trump has repeatedly accused pro-Palestinian protesters of anti-Semitism, a view that has sparked division.
While many critics of Israel’s actions in Gaza, including some Jewish groups, assert that their criticism is rooted in advocating for Palestinian rights and not anti-Semitism, the U.S. government has sought to link such protests to support for Hamas.
In the case of Mahmoud Khalil, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman ruled that Khalil must remain in the U.S. for now but moved his challenge to a New Jersey court due to jurisdictional issues.
Also Read: US to Deport Illegal Pakistani Immigrants This Week
Khalil’s lawyers argue that the U.S. government moved him to Louisiana to avoid the case being heard in New York or New Jersey.
They also emphasized the difficulty faced by Khalil’s pregnant wife, Noor Abdallah, who is eight months pregnant and unable to visit him.
Khalil’s lawyer, Samah Sisay, criticized the administration’s actions and said that Khalil should be with his wife awaiting the birth of their child.
The legal team vowed to continue their fight for his release and the declaration of his detention as unconstitutional.
