Trump moves to deport Indian pro-Palestinian Georgetown University student

After being detained as part of the immigration crackdown, a postdoctoral Indian researcher at Georgetown University who has spoken out against Israel’s occupation of Gaza is facing deportation.

According to Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Badar Khan Suri was deported on Wednesday because he “spread Hamas propaganda and propagating antisemitism” on social media.

According to McLaughlin, “Suri has close ties to a known or suspected terrorist who is a senior advisor to Hamas.”

Suri’s activities and presence in the United States led to a decision made by the Secretary of State on March 15, 2025, under INA Section 237(a)(4)(C)(i)).

McLaughlin did not provide supporting supporting her claim that Suri and Hamas, the organization that controls Gaza, are related.

According to ICE’s online detention locator, Suri is currently being held at the Alexandria International Airport in Louisiana while she is a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding.

According to a court filing online on Wednesday, Suri’s attorney, Ahmad Hassan, filed a petition for the researcher’s release at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Hassan did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment right away.

Mapheze Saleh, Suri’s wife, confirmed to Al Jazeera that she is a citizen of the United States.

Saleh emailed Suri’s legal representative for further inquiries.

A Georgetown University spokesperson confirmed to Al Jazeera that Suri had been granted a student visa to conduct “doctoral research on peace-building in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

The spokesperson stated that “we have not been informed that he engaged in any illegal activity” and that we have not been given a justification for his detention.

Even if the underlying ideas may be challenging, controversial, or objectionable, we support our community members’ right to free and open discussion, discussion, and debate. We anticipate that this case will be decided fairly by the court system.

Suri’s name, likeness, and affiliation to Georgetown University were used on an X account to express support for the Palestinian cause and criticize Israel.

After the Palestinian-run Quds News Network posted footage purportedly showing remnants of an Israeli missile marked “Made in India,” the account claimed that India was “an enabler of genocide.”

“From supporting a genocide against the Palestinians to making it possible.” What a shame it is for Made in India to provide missiles to Israel to slaughter Palestinian children, Suri said.

“Change in blood money values. Shame”.

According to the account in a post from October 2023, many Indians voted in favor of Israel rather than “for the love of Israel.”

Suri’s arrest comes less than two weeks after Mahmoud Khalil, a student at Columbia University, was detained by Trump’s DHS for his involvement in pro-Palestinian protests.

A federal court upheld Khalil’s legal right to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s deportation order on Wednesday.