DHS confirms arrest of Georgetown student linked to high-ranking Hamas advisor

Immigration authorities detained another foreign student after Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked his visa due to his alleged ties to a high-ranking Hamas advisor.

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Badar Khan Suri, an Indian citizen and postdoctoral fellow, was arrested by immigration agents in Arlington, Va., on Monday night.

"Suri was a foreign exchange student at Georgetown University actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media," the DHS described in a statement sent to Fox News. "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)."

This is the same legal provision being invoked by the Trump administration in the case of Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil, who is also facing deportation proceedings that led to a legal battle and criticism of the federal government by immigrant advocates.

The arrests of Khalil and Suri came after President Trump said immigration authorities will target "terrorist sympathizers" or individuals who have engaged in "pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity." 

Suri's family members and legal representatives accused the Trump administration of making an illegal arrest, even calling it a "kidnapping."

According to Politico, in a petition for his release, Suri's lawyer, Hassan Ahmad, said his client was seized because of the Palestinian heritage of his wife, Mapheze Saleh, who is a U.S. citizen. According to an article in the Indian newspaper Hindustan Times, her father, Ahmed Yousef, was a high-profile Hamas advisor.

In the petition, Suri's lawyer also alleges that the capture is due to the Trump administration's suspicion that the two are opposed to Israel and Washington's foreign policy.

Suri's lawyer claimed that he was still unable to speak with his client.

"We’re trying to speak with him. That hasn’t happened yet," Ahmad said in statements picked up by Politico. "This is just another example of our government abducting people the same way they abducted Khalil."