US Judge Halts Deportation of Indian Researcher Badar Khan Suri

Badar Khan Suri, an Indian researcher at Georgetown University, will not be deported from the United States "unless and until the court issues a contrary order," a US judge ruled on Thursday.

The decision came just a day after Suri was arrested over alleged ties to Hamas. He was reportedly held at an immigration detention center in Louisiana.

Court filings accused the US government of detaining Suri "based on his family connection and constitutionally protected free speech."

Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles of the Eastern District of Virginia Court issued the order on Thursday evening, preventing Suri's removal from the US until further notice.

Lawyers Denounce 'Retaliatory' Arrest

Suri's legal team has condemned the arrest as a "targeted, retaliatory detention" aimed at silencing voices supporting Palestinian rights. His lawyer argued that the move was intended to "restrict and chill his speech" along with that of others expressing similar views.

Suri, currently in the US on a student visa, is married to an American citizen. He serves as a postdoctoral fellow at the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service in Washington, DC.

Georgetown University issued a statement in support of Suri, clarifying that he was legally admitted to the US for his doctoral research on peacebuilding 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 university said.

Why Was Badar Khan Suri Arrested?

Suri was taken into custody on Monday at his home in Arlington, Virginia, according to Politico.

Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), alleged on social media platform X that Suri was "a foreign exchange student at Georgetown University actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting anti-Semitism."

She further claimed that Suri had "close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas." The State Department ruled that Suri was subject to deportation under a provision of immigration law that allows expulsion if a visa holder is deemed a threat to US foreign policy.

The DHS cited a determination issued on March 15, 2025, by the Secretary of State, stating that Suri's presence in the US made him deportable under Section 237(a)(4)(C)(i)," the Homeland Security department said, according to a statement it shared with Fox News.