Judge Orders Release of Georgetown Scholar Badar Khan Suri From ICE Detention
On Wednesday, a federal court ordered the release of Georgetown scholar Badar Khan Suri, an Indian postdoctoral student who was abducted by U.S. immigration officials two months ago, after a judge found that he was improperly denied his due process rights and would likely succeed in a habeas corpus case against the government.
Suri, whose research focuses on peace studies and conflict resolution, was detained based on false claims that he was “spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media” by expressing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid Israel’s genocide. The Trump administration also asserted that Suri had “close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas.”
That person, Ahmed Yousef — Suri’s father-in-law — cut ties with Hamas over a decade ago, and has been critical of their actions since. Suri has no direct connections to Hamas.
Suri was detained by immigration officials on March 17 and was transferred to facilities in three states afterward, eventually ending up in an immigrant jail in Texas. His visa was revoked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who utilized a little-known law that allows the government to target noncitizens — regardless of whether or not they have lawful status — if he determines they pose a national security threat.
Earlier this month, federal Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles ruled that Suri’s habeas complaint should be heard in his home state of Virginia.
On Wednesday, Giles ruled that Suri should be immediately released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody as his lawsuit arguing against his potential deportation continues.
Giles found that Suri was likely to succeed in his case, which argues that both his First Amendment freedoms and Fifth Amendment due process rights were violated. The judge also stated in her ruling that support for Palestinian people and criticism of U.S. support for Israel “do not appear to qualify as incitement, defamation, obscenity or true threats of violence.”
“The First Amendment extends to noncitizens, as it makes no distinction between citizens and noncitizens…[Suri] has not been accused of any crime or convicted of any crime,” Giles added, saying that his statements are “likely protected political speech.”
Suri’s case comes as numerous immigrant students and academics have been abducted by the Trump administration over their opposition to Israel’s genocide. Those students — including former Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil, current Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi, and Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk — were all detained under the same rationale that Rubio used in Suri’s case.
So far, the Trump administration has “lost every habeas cause against those it has sought to detain and deport for pro-Palestinian advocacy,” Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, wrote in a Bluesky post. “Only Mahmoud Khalil remains detained, as his case has proceeded on a slower pace than others.”
Earlier this week, Truthout published a handwritten message from Suri in which he condemned the Trump administration’s actions and called for nonviolent resistance against Israel’s ethnic cleansing campaign.
“My only ‘crimes’ making me a ‘national security threat’ are my marriage to a United States citizen of Palestinian origin and my support for the Palestinian cause,” Suri noted, adding that he still gives his “unapologetic” support to Palestinians “and their inalienable rights guaranteed by international law.”
“My beliefs do not allow me to ignore the pain of Palestinians,” he went on. “As a political prisoner, I face deprivation — of sleep, food, hygiene, and, worst of all, contact with my loved ones — but I take solace in knowing that I endure this ordeal for the children of Palestine, and I see my suffering as nothing compared to theirs.”