US Court Rejects Trump's Administration Request to Re-detain Pro-Palestinian Researcher

SadaNews - An American appeals court late Thursday rejected an attempt by the Trump administration to allow immigration authorities to re-detain a researcher at Georgetown University who advocated for Palestinian rights and opposed the Israeli war in Gaza.

A panel of three judges at the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals based in Richmond, Virginia, ruled by a majority of two votes that federal immigration law does not prevent a lower court judge from issuing an order for the release of Badr Khan Suri after hearing his argument that his detention violates his rights to due process and freedom of expression under the U.S. Constitution. Immigration authorities detained the Indian citizen in March 2025 as part of a campaign launched by the Trump administration to detain and deport foreigners who participated in pro-Palestinian activities on college campuses.

Two other federal appellate courts have recently overturned decisions made by lower court judges that had led to the release of pro-Palestinian academic activists studying at Columbia University, namely Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdavi.

However, the panel of the Fourth Circuit did not agree with the conclusions of these two courts that immigration law deprives lower court judges of jurisdiction to consider an issue like Suri's case. They stated that nothing prevents a judge from examining a challenge to the detention of someone suspected to be unconstitutional, even if it is related to deportation proceedings pending before immigration courts. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, did not respond to a request for comment.

Suri said in a statement, "Today reaffirms my belief that an independent judiciary remains the true guardian of freedom, due process, and the rule of law."

At the time of his arrest, Suri was living in Virginia with his wife, who is a Palestinian-American citizen. After U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained him, he was transported to Texas where he was released in May 2025 after a federal judge ordered his release on the basis that he was likely to succeed in proving that his detention was retaliation for his speech protected under the Constitution.