A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to suspend planned deportation of Georgetown University scholars arrested by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Monday over allegations that they spread Hamas propaganda online.
Judge Patricia Giles ordered that Indian citizen Badar Khan Sri “will not be excluded from the United States unless the court issues an order against it.”
Sri was taken into custody in Alexandria, Louisiana.
Suri, a US postdoctoral student on student visas, was accused of “actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting anti-Semitism on social media,” the Department of Homeland Security (promoting anti-Semitism on social media,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement.
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Badal Khan Suri, an Indian National and PhD student at Georgetown University, was arrested by ICE on Monday for alleging that she had spread Hamas propaganda on social media. (Georgetown University)
“Suri has close ties with known or suspected terrorists who are senior advisers at Hamas.”
The agency did not name alleged terrorist or Hamas advisors.
However, the New York Times reported that Suri’s wife was Palestinian-American. Her father is Ahmed Yousef, a former adviser to Ismail Hanie, who assassinated Hamas leader Israel in Iran last year.
Rubio defends Hamas supporters deportation after Columbia University activist arrest
In a fierce interview with CBS News, Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the administration’s pledge to expel Hamas sympathizers. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci/Getty Images)
In a voice message, Yousef added that Suri is his son-in-law and that Suri is not involved in “political activities” on behalf of Hamas, the Times Report states.
Yousef lives in Gaza but told Hamasran government over a decade ago that he left his position. He does not hold senior positions with terrorist groups and has publicly criticised Hamas’ decision to attack Israel on October 7, 2023, sparking a continuing war with Israel.
Georgetown University Campus (Saulrove/AFP via Getty Images)
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On March 15, Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that pickpockets’ activities and presence in the United States “make him deportable” under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a senior official said.
Fox News Digital contacted Suri’s attorney.
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