Washington, DC - A federal judge ordered Georgetown University scholar Badar Khan Suri to be released from immigration detention, the latest victory for U.S. visa holders targeted by President Donald Trump administration in support of Prustin's position or advocacy.
Shortly after U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles' ruling Wednesday, Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi and Tufts University PhD student Rumeysa Ozturk were ordered to be released as their eviction case went forward.
Khan Suri's wife, Mapheze Saleh, spoke at a press conference after the hearing in the federal court in Arlington, Virginia, thanks supporters who showed outside the facility.
"I thank all those who come out to support the truth, speak out and represent Palestinian rights," said Palestinian-American Saleh.
Like similar cases, visa holders’ deportation is related to their gem views and advocacy, Suri Khan’s attorney (with Indian citizenship and a U.S. student visa) claimed that Ice Agents illegally detained his Virginia state in March at his Virginia home because of his residence outside of his Virginia residence, for speech that could have been constitutionally protected.
The Trump administration has taken a broad stance that these constitutional protections do not apply to temporary visa holders and even permanent U.S. residents. This issue may eventually be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The government further relies on the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 to justify its conduct. An obscure provision of the law allows the U.S. Secretary of State to deport any non-citizen who is considered to have "potentially serious adverse foreign consequences."
In another ruling related to Columbia University student Mahmoud Kahlil in April, a federal judge took a broad interpretation of the provision, saying Kahlil was under "anti-Semitism" protests based on Rubio's claims. Although the top diplomat in the United States has provided no further evidence.
Similarly, the Department of Homeland Security previously claimed in an article on X that Khan Suri "disseminates Hamas propaganda and promotes anti-Semitism on social media."
It added that he "has married to the daughter of a senior adviser to the Hamas terrorist group".
However, one of the lawyers representing Khan Suri, told reporters that government lawyers have not yet made evidence supporting these claims in court.
"Today's court also pointed out that the government is making charges on social media, but has not filed charges in a formal court environment," said Arastu, who is also an associate professor of law at CUNY Law School.
“And it is very important here to relate it to this appropriate concept of process – on a very basic level, you have the right to understand the allegations against you,” she said.
Critics further accuse the Trump administration of targeting Khan based on his family relationships. His wife is the daughter of Ahmed Yousef, an adviser to Ismail Haniyeh, the assassinated Hamas political leader, who left his position as an armed group more than a decade ago.
"He should have been arrested and jailed for the government disagreeing with his Constitutional Protection speech," Sophia Gregg's ACLU, a senior immigration rights attorney in Virginia, told reporters Wednesday.
“He should be punished for his relationship with his wife or father-in-law,” she said.
Just like in the cases of Ozturk and Mahdawi, Khan Suri's case will still be released. He faces two separate legal proceedings, one in immigration court and one in Virginia's arrest and detention.
His attorney said he was still in custody in Texas when he issued the ruling Wednesday.
Saleh said in court that she recently spoke with her husband from a detention center in Texas.
“He told me if my suffering in the detention center was because I married Palestinians and because I opposed speaking in the genocide in Gaza and then I should use it as a badge of honor,” she said.