The Trump administration, detained Badar Khan Suri, an Indian national studying at Georgetown University, and is seeking to deport him, accusing him of being a threat to U.S. foreign policy, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

U.S. Homeland Security (DHS) alleged that Suri had connections to Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, and accused him of spreading Hamas propaganda and antisemitic content on social media, according to a statement shared with Fox News. However, the DHS did not provide any concrete evidence to support these claims. Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that Suri's actions had made him subject to deportation.

Suri, who is on a student visa and married to a U.S. citizen, has been detained in Alexandria, Louisiana, and is awaiting a court hearing in immigration court. Federal agents arrested him outside his home in Rosslyn, Virginia, on Monday night.

The case emerges amid Trump's broader push to deport foreign nationals who participated in pro-Palestinian protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza following the October 2023 Hamas attacks. This initiative has sparked criticism from civil rights and immigrant advocacy groups, who argue that the administration is unfairly targeting political dissenters.

Suri is a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, part of the School of Foreign Service. His arrest was first reported by Politico. Suri’s lawyer argued that if a scholar focused on conflict resolution is considered harmful to U.S. foreign policy, the issue may lie with the government, not the individual.

A Georgetown spokesperson said the university had not been informed of the reason for Suri’s detention and was unaware of any illegal activities on his part.

Suri’s wife, Mapheze Saleh, a U.S. citizen, has not been arrested, the lawyer clarified. Saleh, originally from Gaza, has worked with Palestinian media outlets and the Gaza foreign ministry. According to Georgetown, she has contributed to Al Jazeera and other Palestinian media.

Suri, who holds a Ph.D. in peace and conflict studies from an Indian university, has been teaching a class on "Majoritarianism and Minority Rights in South Asia" this semester.

Earlier in March, the Trump administration detained Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, seeking his deportation over his participation in pro-Palestinian protests. Khalil is challenging the charges in court, and his legal team denies any ties to Hamas, which the U.S. designates as a "foreign terrorist organization."

President Trump has accused pro-Palestinian protesters of promoting antisemitism, while some pro-Palestinian advocates, including Jewish groups, argue that criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza and support for Palestinian rights is unfairly equated with antisemitism.