According to the DHS statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio decided that Suri’s actions have “rendered him deportable.”
Badar Khan Suri, an Indian-origin scholar at the Georgetown University, has been detained by the Trump administration for his alleged pro-propaganda over Hamas and antisemitism on social media, news agency Reuters reported. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is seeking Suri’s deportation due to concerns over US foreign policy.
Who is Badar Khan Suri?
Badar Khan Suri is a Suri, a researcher with a post-doctoral fellowship at the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University.
He did his PhD in Peace & Conflict Studies from the Nelson Mandela Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution at Jamia Millia Islamia in 2020. He holds a student visa and is married to an American citizen. Recently, Suri was arrested by federal agents outside his home in Rosslyn, Virginia. He is currently being held in Alexandria, Louisiana, while he waits for his court appearance in immigration court, according to news agency Reuters.
Will Suri be deported?
The US Department of Homeland Security has accused Badar Khan Suri of having connections with the Palestinian militant group Hamas, reported Reuters. They also claim that he spread Hamas propaganda and antisemitic content on social media, according to a statement shared with Fox News. However, the DHS statement to Fox News, which was later reposted by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, was not backed by any evidence. It mentioned that Secretary of State Marco Rubio decided that Suri’s actions “rendered him deportable.”
The case comes as Trump aims to deport foreigners who were involved in pro-Palestinian protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza after the Hamas attack in October 2023. These measures have caused backlash from civil rights and immigrant groups, who say his administration is unfairly targeting people who speak agianst the government.
Suri’s arrest was first reported by Politico. His lawyer in an email said that if the Trump administration has decided that someone with expertise on conflict resolution is bad for foreign policy, “then perhaps the problem is with the government, not the scholar.”
The article originally appeared on FINANCIAL EXPRESS
