A federal judge in the United States blocked the deportation of Indian student Badar Khan Suri, who was detained by immigration authorities after revoking his student visa. His lawyers claim his goal is to keep in touch with those who criticize foreign policy related to Israel.
Justice Patricia Tolliver Giles ordered Thursday after taking appeals on his behalf that Surry, now held in a Louisiana detention facility, could not be deported without a court order. Suri received her PhD from Jamia Milia University in New Delhi and is a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University in Washington, teaching the “South Asia Majority and Minority Rights” course.
Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin accused him of spreading “Hamas propaganda and promoting anti-Semitism on social media.” McLaughlin refers to his wife’s father, Ahmed Yousef, who said he “has a close connection with a known or suspected terrorist who is a senior adviser to Hamas”.
But his lawyer wrote in court documents that his goal was to be deported because he married a Palestinian-American man, based solely on “family connections with people who may have criticized U.S. foreign policy because it has something to do with Israel.”
“We don’t know that he is engaged in any illegal activities and has received no reason for his detention,” a statement from Georgetown University said. According to the university website, Suri’s wife Mapheze Saleh is studying for a master’s degree in Arab Studies, who has worked for the “Gaza Foreign Ministry” and has written for Middle East Monitor, Qatar government television network AL Al Jazeera and Palestinian media.
Suri is the second Indian to be swept in President Donald Trump’s campaign against the Plasteen protest, which swept several U.S. universities. In some cases, the protests turned to anti-Semitism and support for Hamas.
Ranjani Srinivasan, a PhD student at Columbia University in New York, fled to Canada earlier this month, effectively self-phasing after immigration officials said her student visa was cancelled and searched for her.
Surry’s attorney said in filings that homeland security officers covered his face on Monday, blocking him from his suburban Washington residence and taking him away. He was taken to a detention center in Falville, Virginia, and then to Louisiana. His attorneys want him to move to a facility closer to his home as the case goes on.
Georgetown University says Mapheze Saleh, a U.S. citizen, holds a master’s degree from Jamia Milia University and works at the Qatar Embassy in New Delhi.
(with proxy input)
