Indian Post-Doc Fellow Detained In US; Faces Deportation Over Alleged Hamas Link

Indian national and post-doctoral fellow at Georgetown University in Washington DC, Badar Khan 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.

As per the official statement issued by DHS, Secretary of State Marco Rubio agreed that Suri's activities "rendered him deportable."4

"If an accomplished scholar who focusses on conflict resolution is whom the government decides is bad for foreign policy, then perhaps the problem is with the government, not the scholar," Reuters quoted Suri's lawyer saying.

Who Is Badar Khan Suri?

Citing the Georgetown University website, India Today reorted that Badar Khan Suri is a former student of Jamia Millia Islamia, who was teaching "Majoritarianism and Minority Rights in South Asia" and had a PhD in peace and conflict studies.

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

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.