By Jasper Ward
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Georgetown University student from India whom the Trump administration detained over his pro-Palestinian activism must be released, a U.S. federal judge ordered on Wednesday.
The Trump administration wants to deport Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at the Washington, D.C., university. He was detained in March by immigration authorities, accused of spreading Palestinian militant propaganda and antisemitism.
Trump has targeted foreign citizens including Suri who participated in protests in support of Palestinians and against U.S. ally Israel’s war in Gaza. Civil rights and immigrant advocacy groups accuse the administration of unfairly targeting political critics.
U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles, who previously barred Suri’s deportation, ordered his release on personal recognizance to Virginia from detention in Texas, a court filing showed.
He is not to be redetained without a 48-hour notice to the court and his lawyers, Giles added.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Suri has close connections to a senior adviser to Hamas and has actively advocated violence against Jewish people.
“When you advocate for violence and terrorism your privilege of studying in America should be revoked,” she said in a statement.
Suri, who was on a U.S. student visa, is married to an American citizen. Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked his visa in March, citing potential harm to U.S. foreign relations, according to The Washington Post.
In a statement on Wednesday, Suri’s wife, Mapheze Saleh, said the ruling brought her to tears.
“I truly wish I could give her (the judge) a heartfelt hug from me and from my three children, who long every day to see their father again,” she said.
Other similarly detained students, including Mohsen Mahdawi and Rümeysa Öztürk, have also been released on court orders.
“Today’s ruling adds to mounting losses for the Trump administration,” the Center for Constitutional Rights said in a statement.
Trump has alleged pro-Palestinian protesters are antisemitic. The activists say their support for Palestinian rights is wrongly conflated with antisemitism by their critics.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
