Who Is Badar Khan Suri, The Indian Student Facing US Deportation

Photo : Reuters

Badar Khan Suri, an Indian-origin teacher at Georgetown University in the United States, has been arrested and now faces deportation. He was taken by "masked agents" outside his home in Virginia on Monday night, as reported by Politico. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has accused him of "spreading Hamas propaganda" and having "links to a known or suspected terrorist."

Stay informed with the latest news. Follow DXB News Network on WhatsApp Channel  

Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary at DHS, wrote on X that Mr. Suri was "promoting Hamas propaganda and antisemitism on social media" while working as an exchange student at Georgetown University. She also claimed that he had connections with a "suspected terrorist" who advises Hamas. On March 15, 2025, the US Secretary of State issued an order declaring Mr. Suri a threat to national security. This made him deportable under US immigration law.

According to a Georgetown University spokesperson, Mr. Suri was teaching a class on "Majoritarianism and Minority Rights in South Asia" as part of his job. He had entered the US with a visa to continue his doctoral research on "peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Dr. Badar Khan Suri is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, part of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

He earned his PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies in 2020 from Jamia Millia Islamia’s Nelson Mandela Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution in New Delhi. His research focused on the challenges of bringing democracy to divided societies. His thesis, "Transitional Democracy, Divided Societies and Prospects for Peace: A Study of State Building in Afghanistan and Iraq," studied the struggles of building stable governments in conflict-hit regions.

Mr. Suri is known for his work on religion, violence, and peace, as well as on ethnic conflicts and peace efforts in the Middle East and South Asia. However, after his arrest, Georgetown University made his online profile private, and it can now only be viewed with login access.

Mr. Suri’s wife, Mapheze Saleh, is from Gaza. She is a first-year student at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University and is a US citizen.