Washington DC [US], March 21 (HBTV): A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's move to deport a Georgetown University researcher who was studying and teaching on a student visa and was accused of opposing US foreign policy in the Israel-Hamas conflict, CNN reported.

US federal immigration authorities detained the Indian national and postdoctoral fellow, Badar Khan Suri, outside his home in Arlington’s Rosslyn neighborhood in Virginia on Monday night, his lawyer stated in a lawsuit seeking his immediate release.

The US district judge has ordered that Suri not be removed from the country unless the court issues another ruling.

According to the petition filed for Suri's release, he was placed in deportation proceedings under an immigration law provision that the US government has also used in an attempt to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student and green card holder who led pro-Palestinian protests on campus.

The provision allows the US Secretary of State to deport non-citizens if their presence is deemed a threat to US foreign policy. The petition stated that Suri has no criminal record and has not been charged with any crime, Politico reported.

Suri's lawyer argued in the petition that he is being targeted because his wife, a US citizen, is of Palestinian heritage and that the government suspects both of them oppose US foreign policy on Israel.

The petition claimed the couple had 'long been doxxed and smeared' on anonymously run, far-right websites due to their support for Palestinian rights. It further stated that Suri’s wife, Mapheze Saleh, had been accused of having 'ties with Hamas' and had previously worked for Al Jazeera.

US Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin stated that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had determined that Suri’s visa should be revoked for foreign policy reasons.

In a post on X, McLaughlin wrote, 'Suri was a foreign exchange student at Georgetown University actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media. Suri has close connections to a known or suspected terrorist who is a senior advisor to Hamas. The Secretary of State issued a determination on March 15, 2025, that Suri's activities and presence in the United States rendered him deportable under INA section 237(a)(4)(C)(i).'

Suri’s detention is the latest in a series of immigration-related arrests that US President Donald Trump has said are part of an effort to target 'terrorist sympathizers' or individuals engaged in 'pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity.' (ANI)