Washington, DC – An Indian man studying at Georgetown University is facing deportation by the Trump administration after being accused of posing a threat to US foreign policy, according to the student’s lawyer on Wednesday.
The US Department of Homeland Security alleged that Badar Khan Suri has ties to Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, and has been spreading Hamas propaganda and antisemitism on social media. However, no evidence was cited in the statement shared with Fox News by the DHS.
Suri, who is married to an American citizen and living in the US on a student visa, was arrested outside his home in Virginia and is currently detained in Louisiana awaiting his court date in immigration court.
Critics of the Trump administration’s deportation measures have raised concerns that individuals like Suri and Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia graduate also facing deportation, are being unfairly targeted for their political beliefs.
Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, has been described by his lawyer as an accomplished scholar specializing in conflict resolution. The university has stated that it is unaware of any illegal activity on Suri’s part.
The case has raised questions about the government’s motives in targeting individuals like Suri and Khalil, with Suri’s lawyer suggesting that the issue may lie with the government itself rather than the scholars being targeted.
As the legal battle continues for Suri and Khalil, debates surrounding freedom of speech, political activism, and immigration policies are likely to intensify, with civil rights and immigrant advocacy groups closely monitoring the situation.