Badar Khan Suri, an Indian scholar and visiting academic at Georgetown University, has recently recounted his harrowing experience of being detained during the Trump administration. Suri was arrested by plainclothes federal agents outside his Virginia home and held for almost two months without any formal charges.
Suri's ordeal began with his arrest in March, when he was accused of spreading Hamas propaganda and having ties to a suspected terrorist, allegations he vehemently denies. The scholar was transported across multiple states and eventually detained in Texas under harsh conditions. He described the experience as "Kafka-esque," emphasizing the absurdity and nightmare-like quality of his detention. Suri stated that he was fully chained and kept in isolation, conditions that he says made him feel like he was treated as less than human.
A federal judge eventually ruled that Suri's detention violated the First Amendment, leading to his release. Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles had previously barred Suri's deportation and ordered his release on personal recognizance to Virginia from detention in Texas. The judge stated that Suri had substantial constitutional claims against the Trump administration and that she did not believe he was a danger to the community. "Speech regarding the conflict there and opposing Israel's military campaign is likely protected political speech," the judge said. "And thus he was likely engaging in protected speech". She also asserted that the First Amendment applies equally to both citizens and non-citizens.
Despite his release, Suri still faces deportation proceedings. He had arrived in the U.S. in 2022 on a J-1 visa and was working at Georgetown as a visiting scholar and postdoctoral fellow. Following his arrest, Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked his visa in March, citing potential harm to American foreign relations. Suri's lawyers have argued that his arrest was unjust and based on his wife's family ties to Gaza, specifically referencing her father's previous work with the Hamas-backed government prior to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. The ACLU contends that his arrest violated his First Amendment rights.
Suri's case has raised concerns about the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration and threats to free speech. His lawyers accused the government of "forum shopping", suggesting they moved the case to Texas hoping for a more conservative court. According to news agency AP, Judge Giles said that the Trump administration's move would override her order to keep Suri in the US while his First Amendment case is still ongoing.
His detention is part of a broader trend. As of December 2024, ICE data showed almost 18,000 Indians were among the 1.45 million individuals facing deportation from the United States. During his time in office, Donald Trump promised to carry out mass deportations and to impose tariffs on countries that refused to take back their migrants.
