US Appeals Court Upholds Georgetown Pro-Palestine Researcher Freedom Amid Deportation

A U.S. appeals court ruled that Badar Khan Suri, a pro-Palestinian Georgetown University postdoctoral fellow, can remain free while contesting deportation efforts by President Donald Trump's administration, which accuses him of threatening U.S. foreign policy and spreading antisemitism. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's decision that found Suri's detention and repeated transfers between states were attempts to evade judicial review, violating habeas corpus protections. Suri's legal team and supporters argue that the administration's crackdown on pro-Palestinian students conflates legitimate criticism of Israel's actions with antisemitism and extremism, raising concerns about free speech and due process. Secretary of State Marco Rubio personally revoked visas of several foreign pro-Palestinian academics, including Suri, but courts have criticized the administration's approach as unconstitutional. The lone dissenting judge warned that federal court interventions might interfere with immigration proceedings, predicting systemic conflicts between judicial and immigration tribunals. Suri denies all allegations and maintains that the government's actions are retaliation for his and his wife's protected speech and activism.