Georgetown University Professor Detained By ICE, Visa Revoked For Allegedly Supporting Hamas

Georgetown University Professor Detained By ICE, Visa Revoked For Allegedly Supporting Hamas

Federal immigration authorities detained a researcher studying at Georgetown University for allegedly spreading Hamas propaganda through social media.

Badar Khan Suri, is an Indian national in the US on a student visa. He was arrested at his home in Rosslyn, Virginia, by ICE agents.

Suri, who teaches and studies at the university, is married to a US citizen who is originally from Gaza. She still has close ties to the region and writes for Al Jazeera and other Palestinian outlets, according to Georgetown’s website.

Suri is being accused of “actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media,” However his lawyer argue that his client was being targeted over his wife’s heritage and their support of Palestinians.

A DHS spokesperson said he had “close connections” to a senior adviser to Hamas which Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined “rendered him deportable” under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Suri is currently being held at a facility near the Alexandria International Airport in Louisiana, according to ICE’s online database.

A lawyer for Suri filed a Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Eastern District of Virginia challenging the detention.