Georgetown University student released from immigration detention after federal judge's ruling

ALVARADO, Texas (AP) — A Georgetown University scholar from India who was arrested in the Trump administration’s crackdown on foreign college students was released from immigration detention Wednesday after a federal judge's ruling.

Badar Khan Suri will go home to his family in Virginia while he awaits the outcome of his petition against the Trump administration for wrongful arrest and detention in violation of the First Amendment and other constitutional rights. He is also facing deportation proceedings in an immigration court in Texas.

“Justice delayed is justice denied,” Khan Suri told reporters after his release from a detention facility in Alvarado, near Dallas. “It took two months, but I’m extremely thankful that finally I’m free.”

Immigration authorities have detained college students from across the country — many of whom participated in campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war — since the first days of the Trump administration. Khan Suri is the latest to win release from custody, along with Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University student from Turkey, and Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian student at Columbia University.

U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles in Alexandria, Virginia, said she was releasing Khan Suri because she felt he had substantial constitutional claims against the Trump administration. She also considered the needs of his family and said she didn’t believe he was a danger to the community.

“Speech regarding the conflict there and opposing Israel’s military campaign is likely protected political speech,” Giles said. “And thus he was likely engaging in protected speech.”

The judge added: “The First Amendment does not distinguish between citizens and noncitizens.”

Khan Suri was arrested by masked, plain-clothed officers on the evening of March 17 outside his apartment complex in Arlington, Virginia. He was then put on a plane to Louisiana and later to a detention center in Texas.

The Trump administration has said that it revoked Khan Suri's visa because of his social media posts and his wife’s connection to Gaza as a Palestinian American. They accused him of supporting Hamas, which the U.S. has designated as a terrorist organization.

Khan Suri and his wife, Mapheze Saleh, have been targeted because Saleh’s father worked with the Hamas-backed Gazan government for more than a decade, but before Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Khan Suri’s attorneys say.

According to the U.S. government, Khan Suri has undisputed family ties to the terrorist organization, which he “euphemistically refers to as ‘the government of Gaza.’” But the American Civil Liberties Union has said that Khan Suri hardly knew the father, Ahmed Yousef.

Giles acknowledged the Trump administration’s need to prioritize national security but said that “whatever deference may be appropriate, concerns of national security” do not supersede the judiciary.

David Byerley, a Justice Department attorney, had argued against Khan Suri's release. He told the judge that Khan Suri's First Amendment case is inextricably intertwined with the deportation case in Texas, so he should stay there.

After the court hearing, Khan Suri's lawyers declared victory and criticized the Trump administration for “disappearing” people over their ideas.

“He should have never had his First Amendment rights, which protect all of us regardless of citizenship, trampled on because ideas are not illegal,” said Sophia Gregg, an ACLU attorney. “Americans don’t want to live in a country where the federal government disappears people whose views it doesn’t like. If they can do this to Dr. Suri, they can do this to anyone.”

Khan Suri, an Indian citizen, came to the U.S. in 2022 through a J-1 visa, working at Georgetown as a visiting scholar and postdoctoral fellow. He and his wife have three children: a 9-year-old son and 5-year-old twins.

Before his arrest, he taught a course on majority and minority human rights in South Asia, according to court records. The filings said he hoped to become a professor and embark on a career in academia.

After his release, Khan Suri told reporters that he has studied conflict around the world and has sympathies for Jews and Arabs. He also thanked Jewish people and rabbis who came out in support of him.

He described his arrest as “Kafkaesque.”

“They said, ‘Hey, are you, Badar? You’re under arrest.’ I said, ‘For what?’ They said, ‘We will tell you later,’ " he recalled. "And that thing never happened. They never said what wrong I did. My only wrong maybe is that I married a Palestinian girl, who is an American citizen, by the way.”

“They made a subhuman out of me,” he added. "They took me from one center to another, not letting my family know, not letting me know that I have attorneys.”

He said he’s “extremely happy” to be out, but “I feel bad for the students who are still inside.”

Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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Diaz reported from Alexandria, Virginia. Finley reported from Norfolk, Virginia.

Badar Khan Suri, a Georgetown University scholar from India, walks off after speaking to the media after he was released from immigration detention facility Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Alvarado, Texas. (AP Photo/Kendria LaFleur)

Badar Khan Suri, a Georgetown University scholar from India, speaks after he was released from immigration detention facility Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Alvarado, Texas. (AP Photo/Kendria LaFleur)

Mapheze Saleh, center, wife of arrested and detained Georgetown University scholar Badar Khan Suri, listens as senior immigrant rights attorney at ACLU Virginia Eden Heilman, right, speaks during a press conference about her husband's release following his hearing at Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, in Alexandria, Va., Thursday, May 14, 2025 (AP Photo/Nathan Ellgren)

Badar Khan Suri, a Georgetown University scholar from India, speaks after he was released from immigration detention facility Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Alvarado, Texas. (AP Photo/Kendria LaFleur)

FILE - Mapheze Saleh, right, wife of arrested and detained Georgetown University scholar Badar Khan Suri, holds a sign calling for her husband's release after speaking at a news conference following his hearing at Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, in Alexandria, Va., Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Pro-Palestinian protestors call for the release of Georgetown University scholar Badar Khan Suri, during a hearing for his case at the Federal District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia, in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, May 1, 2025 (AP Photo/Nathan Ellgren)

Mapheze Saleh, center, wife of arrested and detained Georgetown University scholar Badar Khan Suri, listens during a press conference about her husband's release following his hearing at Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, in Alexandria, Va., Thursday, May 14, 2025 (AP Photo/Nathan Ellgren)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Cole Caufield and Josh Anderson scored 23 seconds apart in the second period, and the Montreal Canadiens erased a two-goal deficit in beating the Carolina Hurricanes 7-5 on Thursday night.

Sammy Blais had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens, who have a five-game point streak after winning for the third time in four games. Nick Suzuki, Oliver Kapanen, Juraj Slafkovsky and Lane Hutson also scored.

Alexander Texier added two assists and Jakub Dobes made 20 saves for Montreal.

Sebastian Aho had two goals and three assists to become the first Carolina player with more than three points in a game this season. Andrei Svechnikov and Nikolaj Ehlers each added a goal and two assists. Alexander Nikishin had one goal and one assist, but the Hurricanes lost for the second time in their last six home games.

Hurricanes goalie Brandon Bussi stopped 16 shots but took his second regulation loss in 16 games. He was trying to match the franchise record of 13 consecutive games with at least one team point.

Suzuki, who scored the last two Montreal goals Tuesday at Florida, scored 3:12 into the game and the Canadiens went up 2-0 just 56 seconds later on Kapanen’s goal.

The Hurricanes had rapid-fire offense with goals from Ehlers, Aho and Svechnikov in a span of about four minutes. Carolina’s second power-play goal came from Nikishin only 54 seconds into the second period for a 4-2 lead.

When Blais scored at 5:01 of the second, the Canadiens had three goals on eight shots. Caufield and Anderson scored at 16:23 and 16:46, respectively, to regain the lead.

Slafkovsky gave Montreal a 6-4 cushion at 11:20 of the third. Aho’s second goal came with 3:02 remaining after Bussi was pulled for an extra skater. Hutson's empty-netter came with two minutes left.

Canadiens: Saturday at St. Louis.

Hurricanes: Saturday at home against Colorado.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Montréal Canadiens' Adam Engstrom (42) looses control of the puck when approaching Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi (32) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Carolina Hurricanes' William Carrier (28) has his shot blocked by the skate of Montréal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) to prevent a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Montréal Canadiens' Brendan Gallagher (11) controls the puck behind Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi (32) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Montréal Canadiens' Lane Hutson (48) controls the puck against the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Montréal Canadiens' Oliver Kapanen (91), Ivan Demidov, center, and Noah Dobson (53) celebrate a goal by Sammy Blais, not shown, against the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)