Georgetown postdoctoral fellow detained for Palestinian rights speech, ordered released by federal judge
May 14, 2025

Dr. Badar Khan Suri, an Indian national and postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University on a valid research visa, was arrested by federal agents on March 17, 2025, outside his home in Arlington, Virginia. Plainclothes ICE agents detained him and transported him over 1,300 miles to detention facilities in Texas, where he remained for nearly two months in poor conditions. The Trump administration cited his social media posts supporting Palestinian rights and his wife's family connection to Gaza as grounds for visa revocation. On May 14, 2025, Federal Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles ordered his release on bond, ruling that his statements constituted constitutionally protected political speech, that the First Amendment applies to noncitizens, and that his detention violated due process protections with no evidence of wrongdoing.
Timeline
Sources
- Federal court orders release of pro-Palestinian US permanent resident from ICE custody
- CourtListener
- assets.aclu.org
- Federal Judge Orders Release Of Dr. Badar Khan Suri From Detention
beyer.house.gov·May 14, 2025·archived copy
- acluva.org
- Georgetown scholar to be freed from detention in another loss for the Trump administration - ACLU of Virginia
- US: Indian scholar released after detention in Trump-admin crackdown - Connected to India News I Singapore l UAE l UK l USA l NRI
connectedtoindia.com·May 15, 2025·archived copy
- acluva.org
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