Immigration Agents Detain Georgetown Scholar At Rosslyn Home: Reports

Updated 2:45 p.m.

ARLINGTON, VA — Immigration agents from the Department of Homeland Security detained a Georgetown University researcher outside his Rosslyn home on Monday night, according to reports. The agents told the man that his visa had expired.

Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral scholar at Georgetown University and citizen of India, was studying and teaching on a student visa, according to Politico.

Hassan Ahmad, Suri’s Virginia-based attorney, wrote in a court filing that Suri was targeted because of his wife’s “identity as a Palestinian and her constitutionally protected speech,” according to the Associated Press.

“Badar Khan Suri’s detention is a clear violation of his constitutional rights, and he must be released," said U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Arlington). "Mr. Suri is here lawfully and is not accused of a crime, yet he was surrounded outside the Northern Virginia home where he lives with his wife – an American citizen – and their children, arrested by masked authorities without explanation, disappeared, imprisoned, denied access to legal counsel, and had his student visa revoked."

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A government website reported that Suri was taken to a detention facility in Louisiana, according to AP’s reporting.

“The Trump Administration has openly expressed its intention to weaponize immigration law to punish noncitizens whose views are deemed critical of U.S. policy as it relates to Israel,” Suri’s attorney wrote, according to AP’s reporting.

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Suri’s lawyers are seeking his immediate release and to halt deportation proceedings through their habeas motion filed Tuesday against the Trump administration, AP reports.

“We are not aware of him engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention,” Georgetown University said in a statement reported by AP. “We support our community members’ rights to free and open inquiry, deliberation and debate, even if the underlying ideas may be difficult, controversial or objectionable. We expect the legal system to adjudicate this case fairly.”

The following is the full text of U.S. Rep. Don Beyer's (D-Arlington) statement on the arrest of Badar Khan Suri.

March 20, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) – Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) issued the following statement today after his constituent, Georgetown postdoctoral fellow Badar Khan Suri, was arrested and detained outside his home in Rosslyn:

“Badar Khan Suri’s detention is a clear violation of his constitutional rights, and he must be released. Mr. Suri is here lawfully and is not accused of a crime, yet he was surrounded outside the Northern Virginia home where he lives with his wife – an American citizen – and their children, arrested by masked authorities without explanation, disappeared, imprisoned, denied access to legal counsel, and had his student visa revoked.

“The ‘justification’ given for these violations of Mr. Suri’s right to due process is another violation of the Constitution: a blatant attack on the First Amendment. Mr. Suri and his family are unfortunately the latest victim of President Trump’s assault on the freedom of speech. Trump has made no effort to disguise the fact that the arrests of academics like Suri and Mahmoud Khalil is intended to have a chilling effect and discourage the free expression of political views which Trump dislikes.

“In both cases, the administration has punished speech with frightening, extreme measures that, if it happened in another country, most of us would not hesitate to call ‘authoritarianism.’ It is authoritarianism, and while some will find false consolation in their own disagreements with the views expressed by those detained, the truth is that the horrifying precedent established by these cases may lead to the persecution of other individuals and groups with unforeseen consequences.

“The courts must consider Mr. Suri’s case with all possible speed, given the administration’s track record of attempting to deny constitutional rights in ways that are difficult to undo before judicial remedies can be provided. Above all, the administration must stop its assault on the Bill of Rights, and until it does all reasonable people who claim to defend the Constitution must oppose what is happening to Badar Khan Suri.”

Rep. Beyer previously called for the release of Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, and joined other members of the U.S. House demanding answers from the Trump Administration about his case.