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By Sonam Sheth
Evening Politics Editor
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A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the immediate release of a Georgetown University postdoctoral researcher who was detained by the Trump administration, saying it was clear the man was arrested for "punitive reasons" in violation of the Constitution.
Why It Matters
The researcher, Badar Khan Suri, is an Indian national who was legally studying in the United States when he was apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents outside his home in Virginia.
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Suri was detained on March 17 and had his student visa revoked after Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that Suri, who is married to a U.S. citizen of Palestinian heritage, could pose a foreign policy threat to the country.
What To Know
U.S. District Judge Patricia Giles ordered Suri's release from the Louisiana detention facility on Wednesday.
He has not been charged with a crime, but the Trump administration has alleged that Suri has ties to Hamas, which has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department.
Suri's father-in-law was an adviser to former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated by Israeli forces in 2024.
"I gave the government multiple opportunities to submit any type of filing to controvert these claims or support their opposition to these motions and they declined," Giles, who was appointed by then President Joe Biden, said at Wednesday's hearing.
She added that it was clear Suri was arrested "for punitive reasons" that Giles said violated the First Amendment and the right to freedom of expression.
"The First Amendment extends to noncitizens and doesn't distinguish between citizens and noncitizens," Giles said Wednesday, before ordering Suri's release.
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The Georgetown researcher is the third international student detained by the Trump administration who has been released, according to CNN. Judges also recently ordered the release of Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi and Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk.
Mahdawi, a Palestinian man, and Ozturk, a Turkish national, were both detained over their opposition to the Israeli government's military actions in the Gaza Strip. Like Suri, neither Mahdawi nor Ozturk have been accused or convicted of a crime.
What People Are Saying
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a March statement: Suri was "spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media."
McLaughlin did not provide evidence supporting her claim.
Badar Khan Suri said in a statement after his arrest: "I've never even been to a protest. I came to the U.S. to work and raise my family: I go to work, come home late, and still they came and took me and broke my family. In my work, I've seen lots of injustice. I just didn't think it would happen to me here."
Suri's wife, Mapheze Saleh, said in a statement after Wednesday's hearing: "Badar is a scholar, a researcher and a lover of freedom, truth and justice. I'm proud to be his wife and the mother of his three children. I'm a Palestinian woman who feels the pain of my people in Gaza. I'm also an American who believes in the freedom of speech. We are here in US, to live, to learn, to research and practice our profession, not to be separated as a family, not to be tortured, not to be disappeared, and definitely not to be to put in the detention center for no crime."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations celebrated Suri's release, saying in a statement Wednesday: "We applaud this ruling, which is the latest important example of the judiciary pushing back against the Trump administration's brazenly unconstitutional effort to deport college students whose only offense is speaking out against U.S. support for the Israeli government's genocide in Gaza. All of these students must go free and the Trump administration must respect free speech."
What Happens Next
Giles ordered that Suri be released without bond and did not impose any conditions on his release other than returning to Virginia and appearing for all further court proceedings.
Update 5/14/25 6:20 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information and context.
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