US President Donald Trump’s administration has detained Badar Khan Suri, an Indian student studying at Washington’s Georgetown University, for alleged ties with the Palestinian militant group Hamas and spreading its propaganda on social media, Fox News reported on Thursday, citing a statement from the Department of Homeland Security.
The Donald Trump administration is seeking to deport him after deeming him a harm to US foreign policy, the student’s lawyer said.
Badar Khan Suri’s lawyer added that he been detained in Alexandria, Louisiana, and is awaiting a court date in immigration court. He also said Suri was arrested by federal agents arrested outside his home in Rosslyn, Virginia, on Monday night.
The statement, reposted by White House deputy chief of Staff Stephen Miller, did not cite evidence for its allegations against the Indian student. It also said Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that Suri’s activities “rendered him deportable”. The Georgetown University student is also accused of spreading “antisemitism” on social media.
A university spokesperson said the institution has not received a reason for Suri’s detention and was unaware of his engagement in alleged illegal activities.
Badar Khan Suri, who has been living in the US on a student visa, is married to Mapheze Saleh, a US citizen. He is a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, which is part of the university’s School of Foreign Service.
According to the Georgetown University website, Mapheze Saleh is from Gaza and has written for Qatari government-funded broadcaster Al Jazeera and Palestinian media outlets. She has also worked with the ministry of foreign affairs in war-ravaged strip.
