Alexander, Virginia - "Release him now. Free him now."

Lawyers argued in Badar Khan Suri's case that the words rang outside the federal court building near Washington, D.C., who was detained by the U.S. government for his support for Palestinian rights.

Dozens of activists gathered to show solidarity with Georgetown University postdoctoral scholar Khan Suri. He was arrested in March as part of President Donald Trump's campaign to punish and expel non-citizens accused of fostering "anti-Semitism" and "illegal protests" on university campuses.

Khan Suri's Palestinian American wife, crowd in Alexandria, Virginia, in a crowd addressed by the Alexandria, Virginia, highlighted the impact of his detention on three children. She said they just wanted their father to come back.

"Why did this happen to him? Why did the Trump administration persecute him?" Saleh said. “Because he fell in love and married a Palestinian because he dared to express his belief in nonviolence and because he bravely opposed the genocide of my people in Gaza.”

Before detention, Khan Suri signed an academic visa in the United States to conduct research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But the U.S. government accused Indian national Khan Suri of violating his visa terms and "actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting anti-Semitism on social media." It has not provided evidence for any two assertions.

Amanda Eisenhour, an activist at Alexandria, said Khan Suri's case represents the intersection of issues such as freedom of speech, constitutional rights and the "tyranny" of the American immigration system.

“It’s also about Palestine,” Eisenhall told Al Jazeera. “I want to make sure that this is always part of the conversation. Dr. Khan Suri is a political prisoner because of his marriage to Palestinians because of his marriage to Palestinians.

As the legal hearing unfolds, militants outside shout at Khan's freedom and Palestinian rights on a statue of a blindfolded woman, symbolizing justice without prejudice.

One protester held up a sign: "The mob boss disappeared." Another placard declared: "Now due process."

A case in Virginia, Texas client

In court, lawyers on both sides questioned the gap between the geographical gap that occurred at the hearing and Khan Suri's current geographical location.

After his arrest in Virginia, immigration officials quickly moved Khan from his local detention center to one in Louisiana and then in Texas.

Critics say the government has moved individuals who plan to deport themselves to distant states to keep them away from their families and legal teams. They also noted that states such as Louisiana and Texas are more likely to have conservative courts.

On Thursday, Khan Suri's lawyers advocated the transfer of the scholar back to his hometown of Virginia, where his case is currently taking place.

“We hope the court will look at Dr. Surry’s case in Virginia through these illegal government strategies, ordering him to be released, or at least ordering him to return to Virginia where he will maintain close relationships with his legal counsel and his family,” said Samah Sisay, attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights, a Constitutional Rights Center involving the case.

But the Trump administration has filed an objection demand to transfer the court case to Texas.

Eventually, Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles asked for an answer to why Khan Suri moved out of Virginia so quickly. She gave the government lawyers 24 hours in response.

Georgetown Scholars attorneys have reason to remain optimistic about the outcome. The federal district court has claimed jurisdiction in a similar case, and a Vermont judge ordered the release of Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi, who is also facing deportation.

“That’s not the United States we want to be”

Since Trump began his second term in January, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has suggested that he revoke visas from hundreds of foreign students engaged in protest or criticizing Israel.

But the push to expel Khan Suri has been one of the most prominent cases.

To justify the removal of Khan Surry and other student activists, Rubio cited the Immigration and Nationality Act of the 1952 Cold War Age Act. A rarely used rule allows the Secretary of State to expel non-citizens from non-citizens who have “potentially serious adverse consequences” for the United States.

The Trump administration has not yet accused Khan Suri of crimes. But officials accused him of “connection with known or suspected terrorists”: his father-in-law.

"Suri married the daughter of a senior adviser to the (SIC) Hamas terrorist group," the Department of Homeland Security said in a social media post.

But supporters of Khan Suri pointed out that his father-in-law, Ahmed Yousef, had been associated with Hamas for many years and even criticized the group several times.

Yousef served as an adviser to former Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader, who was killed by Israel in Iran more than a decade ago.

In any case, legal experts say family relations are not a reason for criminal offenses or deportation.

Hassan Ahmad, a Virginia attorney representing Khan Suri, said the allegations about the Georgetown scholar’s ​​father-in-law set the case different from efforts to expel other pro-Plastine students.

"We're not only talking about the First Amendment, freedom of speech. We're also talking about freedom of association in the Constitution," Ahmed said.

"That's what distinguishes Dr. Surry's case because they're following him here, and that's not what he says, retweet, retweet, like or like or with anyone (about) anyone (about) but only based on his association. It's not the United States we want to be."

Eden Heilman, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia (ACLU), is helping represent Khan Suri, who also said deporting someone based on their personal connections is a "very terrible premise."

"If this is what the government does, they accused them of what Dr. Surry did, we are in an unprecedented time in terms of our constitutional threat," Helman told reporters Thursday.

Furthermore, social media accounts that appear to belong to Khan Surry will not directly support Hamas or hostility towards Jews. Instead, the scholar used his social media to condemn Israeli atrocities in Gaza and highlighted the obvious war crimes against Palestinians.

"Israel is turning to habitable land for bombing hospitals in Gaza to establish cases for Palestinians in Gaza and considering migration to the Sinai Desert," Khan Suri wrote in October 2023.

In recent months, Trump has called for the evacuation of all Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, an advocate for the plan that constitutes ethnic cleansing.

"kafkaesque" situation

Democratic Congressman Don Beyer, representing a district in Northern Virginia where Khan Suri lives, attended Thursday's hearing to show his support.

"I will do my best to help Khan (Suri) and his family, and I encourage each of us to do our best to tell these stories to help educate Americans about what is happening in this threat to the Constitution, empowering us."

“The Kafkask-like thing is that someone can be kidnapped without reason, without logic, without charge, taken away and locked in a Texas prison, not knowing what will happen next.”

Northern Virginia resident Anita Martineau told Al Jazeera that their speech should not be "kidnapped". She attended a protest outside the hearing, with a poster written on it, “Take Khan Sarri back now.”

"It's absolutely unconstitutional and needs to be stopped," Martino said. "Americans and anyone in this country, whether citizens or residents, need to stand up. We need to speak in a voice."

Melissa Petisa, an activist from Alexander, also asked Khan Suri to "release immediately." She added that Trump is targeting students to distract Gaza from the escalating massacre.

“We are here because we want to show solidarity with Dr. Suri,” Pitas told Al Jazeera. “We are here too because we show solidarity with Palestine.”