A federal hearing for a Rosslyn man detained over his support for Palestine attracted dozens of advocates yesterday (Thursday), including U.S. Rep. Don Beyer.
At a U.S. District Court hearing in Alexandria, the Trump administration sought to have Indian citizen Badar Khan Suri’s case transferred from the Eastern District of Virginia to Texas. Khan Suri has not been accused of any crimes but is currently in custody over allegations of “spreading Hamas propaganda.”
U.S. District Judge Patricia Giles didn’t reach a ruling on the federal government’s request, but asked for counsel on both sides to provide her with more information over the next few days. The judge raised concerns that if she agrees to dismiss the case in Virginia, this would void a court order keeping Khan Suri in the country until his case is resolved.
She appeared unconvinced when Justice Department attorney David Byerley assured her that Immigration and Customs Enforcement told his team that it doesn’t plan to deport Khan Suri immediately.
“I don’t know that I’m going to rely on that, but thank you,” Giles said, drawing chuckles from the jam-packed courtroom.
Among those present was Beyer — a lawmaker who has spoken out against Khan Suri’s detainment since it became public, despite ongoing friction with many of the Georgetown scholar’s most vocal supporters.
Also present were dozens of protesters who filled the courtroom’s benches and occupied the courtyard at 401 Courthouse Square throughout the afternoon hearing.
In a press conference surrounded by supporters, Khan Suri’s legal team described the postdoctoral fellow as a “political prisoner” whose case has deep implications for the rights to freedom of speech and freedom of association — both for immigrants and for all U.S. residents.
“We need to understand that we are a country that has political prisoners,” attorney Hassan Ahmad said. “We do that now. And we need to understand, and all of us need to stand together and fight against this tyranny.”
Beyer backs Khan Suri
In a social media post yesterday, Arlington’s Democrat congressman accused the Trump administration of attempting “to instill fear on college campuses and clamp down on the freedom of speech.”
“What that they have done to Dr. Suri is deeply wrong and contrary to American values, and he should be released,” Beyer wrote. “I will continue to speak up about his case as courts consider it in the days ahead.”
In between chatting with some protesters during a court recess, Beyer told ARLnow that he sees this as a case of an Arlington man being “kidnapped” by plainclothes ICE agents because of a family member’s political ties.
“Particularly upsetting for me is that ICE is not alleging that he’s done anything wrong,” Beyer said.
Khan Suri’s father-in-law, Ahmed Yousef, worked as a political advisor to the prime minister of Gaza from 2006 to 2010, according to court filings.
Shortly before yesterday’s hearing, Beyer introduced legislation which would require all immigration enforcement officers to display “bold and visible identification during a time of action.”
“Like many Americans, I have been dismayed by the recent cases where unidentified, and often masked, ICE Agents have been documented picking people up off the street or from their homes,” he said in a press release today. “The lack of identification can create dangerous situations and contribute to a climate of fear. It undermines the public’s trust in law enforcement and is reminiscent of police states.”
Beyer told ARLnow that finding enough votes for legislation like this is difficult, but he eventually hopes to find support from across the aisle. Beyond that, he sees pressure from the public and legal challenges like Khan Suri’s case as essential tools for reining in Trump’s power.
“We have to fight back. We have to resist,” Beyer said in a video statement after yesterday’s hearing. “I’ll be doing everything I can to help Dr. [Suri] and his family, and I encourage each one of us to do all that we can to tell these stories, to help educate the American people about what’s happening, and this threat to our Constitution, to our rights.”
Despite his public statements in support of the Georgetown adjunct professor, Beyer has faced criticism from Khan Suri supporters who argue that the congressman’s stances on immigration enforcement and the war in Gaza don’t go far enough.
At a town hall earlier this week, for instance, protesters pressed Beyer to call Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide” and visit the ICE detention center in Farmville, Va.
“You have the power to call it out,” a protester said of the deaths in Gaza. “There are legislators who are trying to do something about it, and if you just stand by and make wishy-washy statements, this genocide will continue to happen at your hands.”
In response, Beyer said he was one of the first lawmakers to call for a ceasefire in December 2023 and he has voted against military funding for Israel. He called Israel’s actions “a tragedy” and “ethnic cleansing” but not a genocide.
Beyer also said he has been trying to pay a visit to Farmville Detention Center but hasn’t yet been successful.
In the protest and press conference immediately after yesterday’s hearing, activists noted the lawmaker’s absence. They shouted for Beyer to stand with them.
Khan Suri’s case
Khan Suri’s wife, Mapheze Saleh, said at the press conference that her husband’s arrest has taken a major toll on her three children in Rosslyn, who haven’t seen their father in person in 44 days. In video calls, he continues to wear a red uniform reserved for detainees classified as “high security,” she said.
Saleh said she sees irony in such treatment for a student with a Ph.D. in Peace and Conflict Studies.
“The Trump administration says that he is a threat to the foreign policy of the United States,” she said. “Well, this is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Badar is a man of peace who loves peace and studied peace. He is a scholar who loves his books and teaching.”
Khan Suri is one of several pro-Palestinian immigrants recently detained over alleged “adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.” Unlike other detainees like Mahmoud Khalil or Mohsen Mahdawi, who was released on bail earlier this week, Khan Suri was not an outspoken activist, although he had posted in support of Palestine a handful of times on social media.
In court filings, the Department of Homeland Security has cited its authority to deport non-citizens whose “presence or activities … would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
“Suri — a non-immigrant visitor present in the country for just about two years — has limited rights under the First Amendment in this context,” federal lawyers wrote in a filing last month. “The Government has lawful bases for seeking removal. And the Court should not second-guess the government’s discretionary determinations about foreign policy matters.”
Khan Suri’s lawyers, meanwhile, are leaning on arguments based on rights to free speech, free association and due process. They have said the Trump administration’s interpretation of “adverse foreign policy consequences” is “arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, contrary to constitutional right, contrary to to law, and in excess of statutory jurisdiction.”
The court didn’t take on any of these arguments yesterday. Instead, the hearing focused on whether the Eastern District of Virginia is an appropriate venue for Khan Suri’s case.
In a government filing before the hearing, U.S. attorneys said that Khan Suri’s attorneys filed his suit in Virginia after he was already taken out of state. They argued that filing his case in Texas is “relatively straightforward application of well-settled law.”
The Trump administration said it quickly moved Khan Suri from Farmville Detention Center to a detention center in Louisiana, and then Texas, because of overcrowding
Giles, however, seemed skeptical of the government’s overcrowding claim. She asked the government to provide details about the number of open beds in Farmville at the time of Khan Suri’s arrest as well as the number of people who’ve been transferred because of overcrowding.
Khan Suri’s attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union told the judge that once in Texas, Khan Suri slept on the floor of an overcrowded detention center for at the least the first few weeks, before being transferred to his own cell.
His legal team said the real reason he was moved to Texas was to bring the case before a more conservative judge. Attorney Vishal Agraharkar accused the government of what’s often called “forum shopping.”
Unlike the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, federal district courts in Texas and western Louisiana are dominated by Republican-appointed judges. Win or lose, appeals of such cases go to the reliably conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The 5th Circuit is one of 13 federal appellate courts around the nation and has 17 full-time judges. Twelve were appointed by Republican presidents, including six by former President Donald Trump.
Ahmad echoed Agraharkar’s arguments in the press conference after the hearing.
“There is a reason why the detention facilities exist there,” he said, adding, “This kind of rigged game has to stop.”
Katie Taranto contributed to this story
