U.S. seeks to deport pro-Palestinian Georgetown University student

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Mar 20, 2025 7:31 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

U.S. President Donald Trump's medication has detained an Indian antheral studying astatine Washington's Georgetown University and is seeking to deport him aft deeming him a harm to U.S. overseas policy, the student's lawyer said connected Wednesday.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accused Badar Khan Suri of ties to the Palestinian militant radical Hamas and said helium had dispersed Hamas propaganda and antisemitism connected societal media, according to a connection it shared with Fox News.

The DHS connection to Fox News, which was reposted by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, did not mention evidence. It said Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that Suri's activities "rendered him deportable."

Suri, who is surviving successful the U.S. connected a pupil visa and is joined to an American citizen, has been detained successful Alexandria, La., and is awaiting a tribunal day successful migration court, his lawyer said. Federal agents arrested him extracurricular his location successful Rosslyn, Va., connected Monday night.

The lawsuit comes arsenic Trump seeks to deport foreigners who took portion successful pro-Palestinian protests against U.S. state Israel successful its war against Gaza. The warfare began pursuing an October 2023 Hamas onslaught successful confederate Israel that killed astir 1,200 people, with different 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's violative has since killed implicit 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

In the U.S., Trump's measures person sparked outcry from civilian rights and migrant advocacy groups who impeach his medication of unfairly targeting governmental critics.

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Suri is simply a postdoctoral chap astatine Georgetown's Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, which is portion of the university's School of Foreign Service. His apprehension was archetypal reported by Politico.

"If an accomplished student who focuses connected struggle solution is whom the authorities decides is atrocious for overseas policy, past possibly the occupation is with the government not the scholar," Suri's lawyer said successful an email.

A Georgetown University spokesperson said the assemblage had not received a crushed for Suri's detention, and it was not alert of Suri engaging successful immoderate amerciable activity.

Suri's wife, Mapheze Saleh, is simply a U.S. citizen, said his lawyer. Saleh is from Gaza, according to the Georgetown University website, which said she has written for Al Jazeera and Palestinian media outlets and worked with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs successful Gaza. Saleh has not been arrested, the lawyer added.

Suri himself has been teaching a people this semester connected "Majoritarianism and Minority Rights successful South Asia" and has a Ph.D. successful bid and struggle studies from a assemblage successful India, according to the Georgetown University website.

Earlier this period the Trump medication arrested and sought to deport Columbia University pupil Mahmoud Khalil implicit his information successful pro-Palestinian protests. Khalil is challenging his detention successful court.

Trump, without evidence, has accused Khalil of supporting Hamas. Khalil's ineligible squad says helium has nary links to the militant radical that the U.S. designates arsenic a "foreign violent organization."

Trump has alleged pro-Palestinian protesters are antisemitic. Pro-Palestinian advocates, including immoderate Jewish groups, accidental that their disapproval of Israel's battle connected Gaza and their enactment for Palestinian rights is wrongly conflated with antisemitism by their critics.

WATCH | Columbia Student challenges Trump administration's deportation attempt: