US Judge Blocks Deportation Of Indian Post-Doc Researcher Badar Khan Suri; Says 'Govt Cannot Deport...'

Amid the latest row over the Trump administration's detention and deportation of Badar Khan Suri, an Indian postdoctoral research fellow at the United States' Georgetown University, a federal judge on Friday paused the deporation of Suri until the court has had a chance to rule.

According to The Associated Press, US District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles in Alexandria, Virginia, ordered that Badar Khan Suri “shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the Court issues a contrary order.”

Suri's deportation incident came as the latest case amid the Trump administration라이브 바카라 stringent crackdown on foreign students who participated in anti-Israel protests across US university campuses last year.

About Suri's Deportation

Suri, has been detained by the Donald Trump administration over allegations of spreading anti-semitism and having links to Hamas, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said.

It has been reported that he was told that his visa was being revoked. Suri, who is married to an American citizen, is awaiting a date in the immigration court, according to his lawyer. Federal agents took Suri into custody outside his house in Virginia on Monday night.

In his plea seeking release, it was mentioned that the Trump administration invoked a section of immigration law that granted the Secretary of State the authority to deport non-citizens who appeared to be a threat to the United States’ foreign policy.

Who Is Badar Khan Suri?

Badar Khan Suri was born in India and he completed his PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies in 2020 at Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi. Reportedly, his doctoral thesis, “Transitional Democracy, Divided Societies and Prospects for Peace: A Study of State Building in Afghanistan and Iraq".

According to the PTI, he wrote his thesis on "Transitional Democracy, Divided Societies and Prospects for Peace: A Study of State Building in Afghanistan and Iraq" in which he underlined the complexities involved in introducing democracy in ethnically diverse societies; as well as challenges to project state building. 

Suri was currently living in the US on a student visa.

Suri got married to an American citizen, Mapheze Saleh who was born in Gaza. Saleh reportedly holds a bachelor라이브 바카라 degree in journalism and information from the Islamic University of Gaza, Palestine and the common point between the two is that she also studied at Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi for her master's degree.

Suri Targeted Over Pro-Palestine Activism

According to Hassan Ahmad, Suri's Virginia-based attorney, Suri was primarily targeted because of his wife's “identity as a Palestinian and her constitutionally protected speech.”

The lawyer in his court filing mentioned that Suri and his wife, Mapheze Saleh, have long been doxxed and smeared. Critics have published Saleh's photograph online along with information that includes her former employment with Al Jazeera and her birthplace in Gaza City “as support for her alleged ties with Hamas.”

Besides the lawyer, Nader Hashemi, a professor of Middle East and Islamic politics at Georgetown, also told The Associated Press that Suri was intensely focused on his research and teaching. He felt strong solidarity and sympathy for Palestinians, but was not outwardly political on campus.

“We've organised dozens of events since October 7, when the Israel-Gaza war began, and I don't recall seeing him in any of those events,” said Hashemi, who directs the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, where Suri is a post-doctoral fellow. “That's not who he was.”

Detention Of Mahmoud Khalil

The development came within days after Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful US resident with a green card, was detained by federal immigration agents in New York. Following his detention, he was sent to an immigration jail in Louisiana.

Khalil is a Palestinian activist. Born in Syria to Palestinian parents, he entered the United States to attend Columbia University in 2022 for his master's degree. During his time here, he married an American citizen, who is now eight months pregnant.

During the widespread protests against Israel's war on Gaza across US universities, Khalil was a key figure and served as a mediator between student protestors and university officials.

While students at Columbia, including those with a Jewish background, have defended Khalil, his role as a mediator was seen in a negative light by pro-Israel groups.

He has been accused of antisemitism, which he has denied, stating that his involvement in the protests was part of a broader anti-war movement which included Jewish students and groups.

Following his arrest, around a hundred protesters rallied near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Manhattan to demand his release.

Khalil's lawyers filed a legal challenge, resulting in a federal New York judge blocking his deportation for the time being.

Khalil, who has not been charged with a crime, is being held in immigration custody in Louisiana after being arrested in New York City on Saturday. Khalil's lawyers have said Trump's administration targeted him for arrest and deportation because of his advocacy in violation of the US Constitution's First Amendment protections for freedom of speech.

Brown University Prof deported To Lebanon

Brown University Professor Rasha Alawieh was recently deported to Lebanon by US authorities. This development came amid the Trump administration's crackdown on pro-Palestine protestors at university campuses.

As per US authorities, the Rhode Island doctor was deported after "sympathetic photos and videos” of Hassan Nasrallah, a former leader of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, were found in her phone.

"Last month, Rasha Alawieh traveled to Beirut, Lebanon, to attend the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah— a brutal terrorist who led Hezbollah, responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade terror spree. Alawieh openly admitted to this to CBP officers, as well as her support of Nasrallah," reads the official statement issued by the Department of Homeland Security.

"A visa is a privilege not a right—glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be denied. This is commonsense security," they added further.

As per Reuters, Dr Alawieh told authorities that she had attended Nasrallah's funeral, as she supported the leader from a "religious perspective" as a Shia Muslim.

Sharing the statement issued by Homeland Security, the White House posted two tweets on social media platform X. The first tweet said - "Bye-Bye Rasha"

This tweet was followed by a picture of President Donald Trump waving from a drive-through window.