A U.S. federal judge has prevented the deportation of Indian scholar Badar Khan Suri, who was detained by American immigration officials after his student visa was cancelled.
Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles granted an appeal on his behalf and ruled that Suri, who is in detention at a Louisiana facility, cannot be deported without a court order.
Suri, a PhD from Jamia Millia University in New Delhi, had previously been a post-doctoral fellow at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where she taught a course on "Majoritarianism and Minority Rights in South Asia."
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin charged him with disseminating "Hamas propaganda and anti-Semitism on social media," and stated that he had "close associations with a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior Hamas advisor," his father-in-law, Ahmed Yousef. But Suri's attorney maintained that he was targeted for removal due to his marriage to a Palestinian-American because the motive was his "family affiliation with individuals who might have vented opposition to U.S. foreign policy towards Israel."
Georgetown University has stated that they are unaware of any illegal activities Suri may have engaged in and have not been given any reason for his detention. According to a university website, Suri’s wife, Mapheze Saleh, who is pursuing a master’s in Arab Studies, has worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Gaza and has written for outlets like Middle East Monitor, Al Jazeera, and Palestinian media.
Suri is the second Indian to face President Donald Trump's crackdown against pro-Palestine rallies, which took place at several American universities. Some of those rallies have come with anti-Semitic messages and promoting Hamas.
Back in early April, Ranjani Srinivasan, a PhD scholar at Columbia University, escaped to Canada after having her student visa canceled by American immigration officials who attempted to send her back to India.
Suri’s lawyer detailed that on Monday, Homeland Security agents, wearing face coverings, stopped him outside his residence in a Washington suburb and detained him. He was first sent to a detention facility in Farmville, Virginia, and later transferred to Louisiana. His legal team is seeking to have him moved to a detention center closer to his home as the case continues.
Mapheze Saleh, an American citizen, is a master's degree holder from Jamia Millia University and has earlier served at the Qatar Embassy in New Delhi, as per Georgetown University.
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