Suri’s plight described by an Israeli diplomat who was revoked from his home after a Ramadan meal: “It’s all in your hands, and you can’t give up”
Suri’s plight started March 17, when upon returning home following a Ramadan meal celebration, he was approached by masked federal agents who identified themselves as part of the Department of Homeland Security. They told him that his visa had been revoked.
A photo of Salah, including her school and former employer, are featured on a website that is run by anonymous people. The site has a blacklist of people who are perceived to support Palestinian rights and it is notorious for defaming academics and students.
Nader Hashemi, a professor of Middle East and Islamic politics at Georgetown, also told the Associated Press that Suri was focused on teaching and wasn’t involved in political activism on the highly prestigious college campus.
Suri’s wife, Mapheze Saleh, is a U.S. citizen of Palestinian descent and her father is Ahmed Yousef, a former adviser to Hamas, according to the Associated Press. Yousef told The New York Times that his son-in-law was not involved in political activism. Yousef, for his part, has criticized the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and left his role in the Hamas-run government more than a decade ago, the Times said.
He’s in the U.S. under a J-1 visa which permits people who take part in approved programs of education, training, and research. He completed his master’s degree in peace and conflict studies at Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi in 2020.
“Ripping someone from their home and family, stripping them of their immigration status, and detaining them solely based on political viewpoint is a clear attempt by President Trump to silence dissent,” ACLU of Virginia Senior Immigrants’ Rights Attorney Sophia Gregg said in a statement on Suri’s case. “That is patently unconstitutional.”
The lawyer for the man denied McLaughlin’s claims that he had been targeted because of his father-in-law.
The U.S. Embassy has stopped the deportation of a Georgetown University professor in connection with Hamas propaganda and human rights violations
A federal judge has halted the deportation of a Georgetown University professor who was held by the immigration administration earlier this week.
In a ruling Thursday, U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles in Alexandria, Va., said Badar Khan Suri, an Indian national, can’t be removed from the U.S. “until the Court issues a contrary order.” Giles’ order stopped short of releasing Suri back to his Rosslyn, Va., home where his wife and three young children are still living. The lawyers are working to get him released.
The agents arrested him in front of his wife. Heilman says there was no real explanation for where or why he was going.
She was not charged with a crime. But in just under 72 hours, he has been moved from one immigration center to the next, eventually landing in Louisiana where he is currently held. Heilman said that the speed and obscure nature of the arrest was really alarming.
Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights and and one of Khalil’s lawyers, said the use of this policy by the federal government is “largely unprecedented, save for ugly historical precedents, including the Red Scare and McCarthyism,” the Columbia Spectator reported.
Taal was involved in political activism and was targeted by the DHS. In fact, Taal had recently sued the Trump administration, alleging that he fears “government retaliation” for engaging in “constitutionally protected expression critical of US foreign policy and supportive of Palestinian human rights.” Taal, a student from the UK, had voiced concern that his student visa would be suspended due to the university suspending him and other activists.
DHS did not respond to The Verge’s request for comment. The New York Times reported that the DHS provided no further evidence that Suri was spreading Hamas propaganda on social media. She also said that Suri has “close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior adviser to Hamas.”
The Department of Justice told Taal’s attorneys that they intended to serve him with a Notice to Appear in immigration court and take him into ICE custody.
The attorneys “are not aware of any other instance in which the department has attempted to initiate service of an NTA through the Department of Justice in response to the non-citizen filing a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of presidential action,” Taal’s attorneys wrote.