Badar Khan Suri,a Georgetown researcher and Indian national, was arrested by federal immigration agents. File Photo courtesy Immigration and Customs Enforcement
March 20 (UPI) — U.S. federal immigration authorities detained a Georgetown University researcher, his lawyer said. Indian national Badar Khan Suri was arrested Monday outside his home in Arlington, Va., which has been confirmed by his lawyer, Politico reported. A lawsuit was filed Tuesday seeking his release.
Masked federal agents arrived at his home and told him his visa had been revoked.
Suri is a postdoctoral fellow on a student visa and has not been charged with a crime.
His attorney has argued that Suri has been detained due to his wife Mapheze Saleh’s Palestinian heritage. She is an American citizen who had once worked for Al Jazeera and whose father, Ahmed Yousef, was purportedly a senior political advisor to Hamas.
“Suri was a foreign exchange student at Georgetown University actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting anti-Semitism on social media,” Assistant Secretary Dept. of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin posted to X Wednesday. “Suri has close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas.”
McLaughlin further said the Secretary of State “issued a determination” Saturday that “Suri’s activities and presence in the United States rendered him deportable” under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Suri’s lawyer reported he has not been able to contact Suri since Wednesday, and that Suri is expected to be transferred to a detention center in Texas.