Judge allows pro-Gaza scholar Badar Khan Suri to challenge deportation in Virginia

Detained Georgetown scholar Badar Khan Suri can challenge his deportation in a Virginia federal court, after the US government attempted to transfer his case to Texas. The ruling comes as the Trump administration continues its crackdown on pro-Palestinian activism.

US District Judge Patricia Giles rejected the government's attempt to move Suri's case, describing its rationale as "riddled with inconsistencies". She noted that the move appeared intended to hinder Suri's ability to legally challenge his detention.

"This atypical movement would make it difficult for any diligent lawyer’s filings to 'catch up' to their client’s location," Giles wrote.

Supporters of Suri allege that transferring him to Texas was a deliberate attempt to increase the chances of the case being heard by a conservative judge.

Judge Giles also suggested that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may have intentionally transferred Suri multiple times, from Virginia to Louisiana and then to Texas, to prevent his legal team from filing in the correct jurisdiction.

Suri, who held a visa for visiting scholars and professionals, was detained on 17 March at his home in Arlington County, Virginia. He was later transferred to an immigration facility in Dallas, where he has remained for over a month. Video footage shows masked federal agents arresting the academic.

Shortly after the 7 October attacks, Suri had posted on Facebook: "Palestine… has all right to fight back against the settler colonialism of Israel, including the legal right to resort to armed resistance against occupation."

The US Department of Homeland Security has alleged that Suri had "close connections to a known or suspected terrorist" and that his pro-Palestinian activities constitute grounds for deportation. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly determined his actions to be cause for removal.

Court filings revealed that a major factor in Suri's detention was his wife, Mapheze Ahmad Yousef, a US resident originally from Gaza. According to the filings, the Israeli embassy flagged Yousef as the daughter of Ahmed Yousef, a senior adviser to the late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

The Department of Homeland Security has also accused Suri of spreading “Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism” on social media, citing his alleged ties to Ahmed Yousef.

In an op-ed for The New Arab, Suri's wife defended him, saying the accusations were politically motivated and lacked evidence.

"Badar is not a terrorist sympathiser, but a researcher of conflict resolution," she wrote. "He has always been dedicated to books, studying ways to make peace. Whether at home or in his office, all he did was study, read, and write. He is a brilliant student, a gifted teacher, and a loving husband and father."