Judge halts Georgetown scholar's removal from US until further court order

A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from removing a Georgetown University postdoctoral scholar from the country until the court can consider his legal challenge.

Badar Khan Suri, an Indian national who has a student visa, filed a habeas petition challenging his detention after he was arrested by immigration authorities in Virginia on Monday.

The Trump administration alleges that Suri has close connections to a senior adviser to Hamas, has actively spread Hamas propaganda and promoted antisemitism on social media. His attorneys say he is being targeted because his wife, a U.S. citizen, is of Palestinian descent and the two have voiced support of Palestinian rights.

U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles in a brief order Thursday afternoon instructed the government to not remove Suri from the country “unless and until the Court issues a contrary order.” Giles is an appointee of former President Biden.

In his petition, Suri indicated he was being held in Farmville, Va., a roughly three-hour drive from where he was arrested in Arlington. His legal challenge was first reported by Politico.

It is the second known case in which the administration has justified detaining someone under a provision of federal immigration law allowing someone to be removed if the secretary of State determines their continued presence in the country poses “serious adverse foreign policy consequences.” 

The administration has also cited the provision in attempting to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University student who helped lead pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the school. His legal challenge remains pending in New Jersey.