Badar Khan Suri, an Indian post-doctoral fellow at Georgetown University, has been arrested by US immigration authorities and now faces deportation over alleged links to Hamas. The arrest was confirmed by his lawyer and reported by Politico.
According to the lawsuit, Suri was apprehended by “masked agents” outside his home in Virginia on Monday night. The agents identified themselves as part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and informed him that his visa had been revoked.
Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary at DHS, made serious allegations against Suri in a post on X. “Suri was a foreign exchange student at Georgetown University actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media,” she wrote.
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“Suri has close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas. The Secretary of State issued a determination on March 15, 2025, that Suri’s activities and presence in the United States rendered him deportable under INA section 237(a)(4)(C)(i),” McLaughlin added.
Who is Badar Khan Suri?
Dr. Badar Khan Suri is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington DC.
Suri completed his Ph.D. in Peace and Conflict Studies from the Nelson Mandela Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, in 2020. His thesis, “Transitional Democracy, Divided Societies and Prospects for Peace: A Study of State Building in Afghanistan and Iraq,” explored the complexities of introducing democracy in ethnically diverse societies and the challenges of state-building.
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The lawsuit claims Suri was arrested without prior notice, raising concerns over due process. However, DHS maintains that Suri’s alleged activities and his connections justify the deportation order under US immigration laws.
