A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the immediate release of Georgetown University researcher Badar Khan Suri, whom the Trump administration accused of having ties to the Hamas terrorist group.
The decision, issued by U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles in Virginia on May 14, allows Suri—an Indian national residing in the United States on a student visa—to return to Virginia while his legal challenge against the government proceeds. He has spent nearly two months in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had accused Suri of spreading pro-Hamas propaganda and anti-Semitic messages online. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in March that Suri had “close connections to a known or suspected terrorist,” and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had issued a determination to cancel Suri’s visa. In court, Trump administration lawyers argued that Suri should not be released as he posed a threat to the community and was a flight risk….