A Georgetown University researcher has been detained by immigration authorities, sources with the Department of Homeland Security confirmed Wednesday amid the Trump administration's crackdown on activists across college campuses.
Badar Khan Suri, an Indian national, is a postdoctoral associate who was studying and teaching on a student visa.
According to a statement from a Georgetown University spokesperson, Suri obtained his visa in order "to continue his doctoral research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan."
"We are not aware of him engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention," the school spokesperson told CBS News. "We support our community members' rights to free and open inquiry, deliberation and debate, even if the underlying ideas may be difficult, controversial or objectionable. We expect the legal system to adjudicate this case fairly."
In its own statement, a spokesperson for DHS told CBS News that Suri was a "foreign exchange student at Georgetown University actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media."
The DHS spokesperson claimed that Suri had "close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior adviser to Hamas."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a determination on March 15 that "Suri's activities and presence in the United States rendered him deportable" under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the spokesperson added. It was unclear exactly how and when Suri was detained.
According to ICE's online detention locator, Suri was being held at an ICE detention facility at Alexandria International Airport in Louisiana.
A writ of habeas corpus — a lawsuit challenging Suri's detention — was filed on his behalf on March 18. CBS News has reached out to his attorney.
This follows the controversial March 8 New York City arrest by ICE agents of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student and green card holder who was involved in the 2024 pro-Palestinian campus protests.
The 30-year-old Khalil, an Algerian national who was born in Syria to Palestinian parents, is also being held in a Louisiana detention facility. Khalil was arrested in front of his wife, who was eight months pregnant at the time.
In a statement to CBS News last week, DHS alleged Khalil's arrest was "in support of President Trump's executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism," alleging the former student "led activities aligned to Hamas," but without providing evidence of the claim or detailing any alleged criminal charges against him.
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Khalil's case can be heard in New Jersey, rather than New York or Louisiana. Khalil was briefly held at a detention facility in New Jersey before being moved to Louisiana.
