New Delhi: Amid the detention of an Indian student Badar Khan Suri by US immigration authorities over his alleged links with the Hamas, the Ministry of External Affairs said today that they have not been approached in the matter by either the US government or the Indian national.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, answering queries in the matter at the media briefing, said:
“We are given to understand through media reports that this particular individual has been detained.
“Neither the US government nor the individual has approached us or the embassy.”
Asked about another Indian student Ranjani Srinivasan whose visa was revoked for being part of pro-Palestine protests, the spokesperson said:
“We have been saying, that when it comes to visa and immigration policy, it is something that lies within the sovereign functions of a country. We on our side we expect when we have foreign nationals coming to India, that they abide by our laws and regulations, and similarly it is our expectation that when Indian nationals are abroad they must also comply with local laws and regulations.”
Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University, was arrested by masked agents outside his home in the Rosslyn neighbourhood of Arlington, Virginia, on Monday night.
His lawyer has filed a lawsuit seeking his immediate release.
The federal agents identified themselves as being with the Department of Homeland Security and told Suri that the government had revoked his visa.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirmed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a determination on Saturday that Suri’s visa should be cancelled for foreign policy reasons.
“Suri was a foreign exchange student at Georgetown University actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media,” McLaughlin wrote on X.
“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),” she said.
According to Suri’s petition for release, he was put under deportation proceedings,
However, on Thursday US District Judge Patricia Giles issued ordered the Trump administration not to proceed for now with the deportation of Suri.
Giles issued the brief directive declaring that Badar Khan Suri “shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the Court issues a contrary order”, Politico reported.
The judge issued the order shortly after Suri’s wife, Mapheze Saleh, said in a sworn court declaration that the couple has no ties to Hamas, despite her father’s former high-level role in Gaza’s government.
Suri’s lawyer, Hassan Ahmad, has argued in his petition that Suri is being punished because of the Palestinian heritage of his wife — who is a US citizen — and because the government suspects that he and his wife oppose US foreign policy toward Israel.
Suri’s wife, Mapheze Saleh, has been alleged to have “ties with Hamas” and once worked for Al Jazeera.
Earlier this month, Ranjani Srinivasan, who was part of the pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University, had her visa revoked by the Trump administration for “advocating violence and terrorism”.
The student “self-deported” on March 11 to Canada, the Department of Homeland Security said.
UNI
