Indian Scholar Arrested in US, Facing Deportation

New York, March 20 (NationPress) An Indian researcher at a US university has been apprehended by immigration officials and is now confronting deportation, as per his attorney.

Badar Khan Suri was seized on Monday outside his residence in a suburb of Washington, Virginia, by masked officers who informed him that his student visa had been annulled, according to statements from his lawyer reported by Politico.

Suri, who earned his PhD from Jamia Milia University in New Delhi, was a post-doctoral fellow at Georgetown University, where he taught a course titled “Majoritarianism and Minority Rights in South Asia”.

He is married to a US citizen, Maphaz Ahmad Yousef, the daughter of Ahmed Yousef, described in a Hindustan Times article cited by Politico as “a senior political advisor to the Hamas leadership”.

Attorney Hassan Ahmad informed Politico that a habeas corpus appeal has been submitted in a federal court in Virginia.

Suri marks the second Indian individual facing deportation due to alleged connections with pro-Palestinian movements that have emerged on US campuses.

Earlier this month, Ranjani Srinivasan, a PhD student at Columbia University in New York, fled to Canada, effectively self-deporting after an immigration officer sought her, citing that her student visa had been revoked.

The Department of Homeland Security accused her of being involved in “activities supporting Hamas, a terrorist organization”.

In contrast to Srinivasan’s situation and that of two others who were arrested for allegedly participating in campus protests and face deportation, the Trump administration has remained silent regarding Suri’s arrest.

According to Politico, Ahmad claimed in his court petition that Suri was targeted due to his wife's Palestinian background and the government's suspicion that they both oppose support for Israel.

His lawyer stated that Suri possesses no criminal record.

It remains unclear whether he participated in any protests.

Georgetown University, a Catholic institution, noted that Suri was affiliated with its Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the School of Foreign Service.

He was engaged in a project that investigates potential causes hindering cooperation among religiously diverse societies and explores strategies to overcome these barriers, having traveled extensively in conflict zones, including India, Pakistan, and Balochistan in Iran.

Suri seems to be the latest academic caught in the crackdown on pro-Palestinian sentiments or activities on campuses that the Trump administration perceives as pro-Hamas.

In defense of the crackdown, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on X, “Coming to the United States on a visa is a privilege, not a right. The Trump Administration is determined to deny or revoke your visa if you're here to support terrorists”.

A recent graduate of Columbia University, Mahmoud Khalil, was also arrested this month and is currently held in a Louisiana detention center awaiting deportation despite possessing a green card.

A judge has halted his deportation pending the resolution of his appeal.

Another Columbia student, Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian, was arrested after being accused of remaining in the US after her student visa expired.

Rasha Alawieh, a doctor and professor at Brown University, was denied re-entry to the US after traveling to Lebanon and reportedly attending the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.