Postdoctoral researcher Badar Khan Suri accused of ‘disseminating Hamas propaganda and fostering antisemitism’.
An Indian postdoctoral researcher in the United States, who has voiced opposition to Israel’s actions in Gaza, is facing deportation after being apprehended under former President Donald Trump’s immigration policy.
Badar Khan Suri, currently a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, was targeted for deportation for “disseminating Hamas propaganda and fostering antisemitism” through social media, according to Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as stated on Wednesday.
“Suri has close ties to a known or suspected terrorist, specifically a senior advisor to Hamas,” McLaughlin remarked on X.
“On March 15, 2025, the Secretary of State determined that Suri’s actions and presence in the United States rendered him deportable under INA section 237(a)(4)(C)(i).”
McLaughlin did not provide proof to support her assertion regarding Suri’s affiliations with Hamas, the governing entity of Gaza.
Suri, who was conducting research at Georgetown’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, is currently detained at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility at Alexandria International Airport in Louisiana, according to ICE’s online detention locator.
Ahmad Hassan, a lawyer for Suri, submitted a petition for the researcher’s release on Wednesday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, based on a court filing available online.
Hassan did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Al Jazeera.
A spokesperson for Georgetown University stated to Al Jazeera that Suri had been granted a student visa to conduct “doctoral research on peace-building in Iraq and Afghanistan”.
“We are unaware of him participating in any illegal activity, and we have not received any explanation for his detention,” the spokesperson added.
“We uphold our community members’ rights to engage in free and open inquiry, deliberation, and debate, even when the views expressed may be challenging, controversial, or objectionable. We expect the legal system to handle this case equitably.”
An X account under Suri’s name and Georgetown affiliation showcases various criticisms of Israel along with supports for the Palestinian cause.
In a June post, the account accused India of being “an enabler of genocide” after the Palestinian-run Quds News Network shared footage allegedly showing an Israeli missile marked “Made in India”.
“From being an ally of Palestinians to an enabler of genocide. How disgraceful for Made in India to provide missiles to Israel, allowing for the butchering of Palestinian children,” Suri stated.
“A change of values for blood money. Shame.”
In an October 2023 post, Suri’s account claimed that many Indians supported Israel not for “love of Israel” but out of “hate for Muslims”.
Suri’s detention occurs just under two weeks after Trump’s DHS arrested Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil due to his participation in pro-Palestinian protests.
On Wednesday, a federal court ruled that Khalil, a permanent US resident, could move forward with a legal challenge against the Trump administration’s order for his deportation.
Judge Jesse Furman determined that Khalil’s assertion that his removal would infringe upon his free speech and due process rights under the US Constitution warranted “careful review”.
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