Georgetown Student Arrested By ICE, Faces Deportation To India

Photo: Georgetown University

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, DC – Badar Khan Suri, an Indian national doing his postdoctoral research at Georgetown University, has been taken into custody by federal immigration authorities. Suri, who is married to a U.S. citizen, was arrested at his home in Rosslyn, Virginia, by masked agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), according to a lawsuit filed by his attorney.

Suri, a scholar specializing in peace and conflict studies, holds a Ph.D. from an Indian university and is affiliated with Georgetown’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. He was informed by DHS agents that his student visa had been revoked, though no prior notice had been given, the lawsuit states.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security accused Suri of ties with Palestinian militant group Hamas and said he had spread Hamas propaganda and antisemitism on social media, according to a statement it shared with Fox News.

A DHS spokesperson further alleged that he maintained “close connections” to a senior Hamas adviser, leading Secretary of State Marco Rubio to deem him deportable under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Suri’s attorney has challenged his detention by filing a Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Eastern District of Virginia. The lawyer argued that Suri was being unfairly targeted due to his wife’s Palestinian heritage and her advocacy for Palestinian rights, as reported by Politico. His wife, a U.S. citizen originally from Gaza, has written for Al Jazeera and worked with the Palestinian foreign ministry, per Georgetown’s website.

Georgetown University stated it was unaware of any illegal activity by Suri. “Dr. Khan Suri was duly granted a visa to conduct doctoral research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan,” a university spokesperson said. “We expect the legal system to adjudicate this case fairly.”

Suri is currently detained at a facility near Alexandria International Airport in Louisiana, according to ICE’s online database.

It may be recalled Vice President JD Vance, in an interview with Laura Ingraham of Fox News earlier this week, suggested that more student visa holders could face deportation if deemed contrary to U.S. interests.

 Suri completed his doctorate in Peace and Conflict Studies from Nelson Mandela Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi in 2020.

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.

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