Aug. 6 (UPI) — Georgetown University researcher Badar Khan Suri was permitted to return to his job and stay in the United States after a deal was struck with the federal government as litigation plays out in court.
On Tuesday, five-page court documents revealed the U.S. Justice Department reached a settlement that partially resolves the nearly five-month long legal fight after his arbitrary arrest in March by masked agents of U.S. Immigration Custom and Enforcement, part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration policy moves.
Suri, a citizen of India, is in the United States on an academic visa and has not been charged with a crime.
Tuesday’s DOJ deal retroactively restored the legal status for Suri and his children but does not end efforts to deport him.
He was arrested March 17 by masked ICE agents outside his apartment in Arlington, Va., in the outskirts of the nation’s capital in the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration and academics in expressing interest or concern over Palestinian plight in Gaza.
U.S. Homeland Security’s Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin claimed on social media that Suri was “actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media.” She further stated he had “close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas.”
Suri was then sent to a Texas detention immigration detention facility.
He argued in legal documents that he was likely targeted by the administration due to his marriage to a U.S. citizen of Palestinian origin and that his First Amendment rights had been violated.
In May, his immediate release without bond was ordered by U.S. District Judge Patricia Giles on condition he maintain a Virginia residence and attend in person case hearings.
Giles said at the hearing that his release was “in the public interest to disrupt the chilling effect on protected speech.”
At the time of his arrest Georgetown said university officials were “not aware” of any criminal activity.
“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,” a Georgetown University spokesperson told The Hill.
“We expect the legal system to adjudicate this case fairly,” it added.
On Tuesday, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union said Siri’s legal team felt “encouraged” that the government agreed to restore the status and federal records for Suri and his family.
“We know Dr. Suri is eager to rejoin the academic community at Georgetown and this will give him the opportunity to do that this fall,” the ACLU’s Eden Heilman told Politico.
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