A Georgetown University researcher, Badar Khan Suri, has been detained by U.S. immigration authorities over alleged links to Hamas, amid the Trump administration’s ongoing crackdown on campus activists.
Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, stated that Suri had “close connections to a known or suspected terrorist.” In a post on X, she claimed that Suri, an Indian national and postdoctoral fellow, was a foreign exchange student at Georgetown University who actively spread Hamas propaganda and promoted antisemitism on social media. She further noted that the Secretary of State had determined on March 15, 2025, that Suri’s activities rendered him deportable under INA section 237(a)(4)(C)(i).
Georgetown University responded with a statement asserting that Suri was conducting doctoral research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan. The university expressed support for free inquiry and debate and stated that they were unaware of any illegal activities by him.
Suri, who is married to an American citizen, is currently awaiting an immigration court hearing. His lawyer maintains that he has no criminal record and is being unfairly targeted due to his wife’s Palestinian heritage, as reported by Politico.
His detention follows the arrest of Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder who participated in pro-Palestinian campus protests in 2024. Khalil’s case marked the first publicly known deportation effort linked to pro-Palestinian activism under the Trump administration.
