On Thursday, the U.S. government decided not to follow a judge’s order to stop the deportation of Badar Khan Suri, an Indian man accused of sharing pro-Hamas messages online. This happened during a court hearing in Alexandria, Virginia. Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles asked the government why they wanted to move Khan Suri’s case to Texas, where he is currently held, due to concerns about overcrowding in the detention center.
The Justice Department said they shouldn’t have filed the case in Virginia since Khan Suri had already been moved. They claimed moving the case to Texas is a straightforward process according to the law. However, Judge Giles wants proof that overcrowding was the real reason for his move. She also expressed concern that the government’s actions might ignore her order to keep Khan Suri in the U.S. while he fights his case about free speech rights, also known as the First Amendment.
Khan Suri’s lawyers said the government is trying to pick a more favorable court by moving the case to Texas, where the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals usually supports the government in immigration matters.
Why Badar Khan Suri Could Be Deported:
Khan Suri came to the U.S. in 2022 with a J-1 visa and works as a visiting scholar at Georgetown University. He has a wife, Mapheze Saleh, and three kids. The government says he has connections to Hamas and that his social media posts support the Palestinian cause. They believe this makes him eligible for deportation.
Khan Suri was arrested on March 17 outside his home in Arlington, Virginia, by undercover officers. His lawyers argue that his arrest was unfair and based on his wife’s family connections to Gaza, especially her father’s past work with the Hamas-backed government before the recent Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) believes the arrest violates his First Amendment rights.
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