WASHINGTON – A Georgetown University scholar that was detained by immigration authorities was released Wednesday.
What we know:
A federal judge in Alexandria ordered on Wednesday afternoon for Dr. Badar Khan Suri to be released and returned to Virginia to pursue his legal options. Suri had been detained at Prarieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas.
Suri, a postdoctoral scholar at Georgetown University, was arrested in Roslyn, Virginia on March 17. He had been accused of “spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media,” according to Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in March.
“I can’t express my feelings. I really appreciate all of the judge’s efforts, and I wish that I could just give her a huge hug from me and my kids who are missing their father,” said Mapheze Saleh, Suri’s wife.
The backstory:
“Suri has close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas,” McLaughlin announced late in March on the X platform. “The Secretary of State issued a determination on March 15, 2025 that Suri’s activities and presence in the United States rendered him deportable under INA section 237(a)(4)(C)(i).”
The deportation effort is part of broader legal battles involving international visa holders, including a Columbia University international affairs graduate student and a doctor from Lebanon.
According to a Georgetown University webpage, Badar Khan Suri is identified as a postdoctoral fellow at the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding.
“Dr. Khan Suri is an Indian national who was duly granted a visa to enter the United States to continue his doctoral research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan,” a Georgetown University spokesperson told FOX 5. “We are not aware of him engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention. We support our community members’ rights to free and open inquiry, deliberation and debate, even if the underlying ideas may be difficult, controversial or objectionable. We expect the legal system to adjudicate this case fairly.”
The Source: This story includes reporting from FOX 5’s Stephanie Ramirez and Tom Fitzgerald, sound from Mapheze Saleh, the wife of Dr. Badar Khan Suri, and previous FOX 5 DC reporting.
