US President Donald Trump’s administration is detaining an Indian studying at Georgetown University in Washington, and is attempting to deport him after he deemed him as harming US foreign policy, a student’s lawyer said Wednesday.
The US Department of Homeland Security has denounced Badar Khan Sri on his relationship with Palestinian extremist group Hamas and said he spread Hamas propaganda and anti-Semitism on social media, according to a statement shared with Fox News.
A DHS statement to Fox News, reposted by White House Deputy Chiefs of Staff Stephen Miller, did not cite any evidence. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he determined that the Suri’s activities “make him deportable.”
Sli — who lives in the United States on a student visa and is married to an American citizen — is in custody in Alexandria, Louisiana, and is awaiting the court date for the immigration court, his lawyer said. Federal agents arrested him outside their home in Roslyn, Virginia on Monday night.
The incident comes as Trump attempts to deport foreigners who participated in Palestinian protests against the Alli Israeli war in Gaza after the recent Hamas attacks in October 2023, including Colombian alumnus Mahmoud Khalil.
Trump’s actions sparked protests from civil rights and immigration advocacy groups.
Suri is a postdoctoral researcher for Muslim and Christian understanding at the Alwaleed Bintalal Centre in Georgetown, part of the university’s foreign service school. His arrest was first reported by Politico.
“If a skilled scholar focused on conflict resolution determines that the government is bad for foreign policy, then the problem lies with the government, not the academic,” Suri’s lawyer said in an email.
A Georgetown University spokesman said the university had not received any reason for pickpockets detention and was unaware that pickpockets were involved in illegal activities.
Suri’s wife, Mapeze Saleha, is a US citizen, his lawyer said. According to the Georgetown University website, Saleh is a native of Gaza and wrote for the media of Al Jazeera and Palestinian, and collaborated with Gaza’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to the Georgetown University website, Sri himself has been taking classes on “South Asian Minorities and Minorities Rights” semesters on “South Asian Minorities and Minorities Rights” and has earned a PhD from an Indian university.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration arrested him and sought to deport Halil for participating in the Palestinian protests. Halil is challenging him in court detention.
Trump accused Halil of supporting Hamas without evidence. Khalil’s legal team says there is no connection to extremist groups the US has designated as “foreign terrorist organizations.”
Trump claims that pro-Palestinian protesters are anti-Semitic. Pro-Palestinian defenders, including several Jewish groups, say their criticism of Israel’s attacks on Gaza and their support for Palestinian rights are misconstrued with anti-Semitism by their critics.
