US court affirms release of pro-Palestine scholar as legal battle continues

Appeal judges’ decision to side with Georgetown’s Badar Khan Suri against Trump sets up Supreme Court intervention.A United States appeals court has rejected immigration authorities’ push to re-detain a ⁠Georgetown University scholar, who is facing deportation for his activism against Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.In a 2-1 decision, the Virginia-based US Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that federal immigration law did not bar a lower court ⁠judge from ordering Badar Khan Suri to be released.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Election wins prove pro-Palestine US campus protests didn’t fail: Activistslist 2 of 4Mahmoud Khalil alleges conspiracy in lawsuit against Trump officialslist 3 of 4US judge orders release of Palestinian rights advocate detained by ICElist 4 of 4Waiting for Hassan: Another Gaza doctor held by Israel without chargeend of listKhan Suri, an Indian citizen, was arrested in March 2025 as the administration of President Donald Trump detained and deported foreign nationals engaged in pro-Palestinian activism on college ‌campuses.The appeals court sided with Khan Suri’s claim that his detention violated his due process and free speech rights under the US Constitution. The court also rejected the Trump administration’s request to move the case from Virginia to Texas.“If a noncitizen is challenging their detention pending removal, then waiting for their removal proceedings does them no good. They have already been detained, allegedly in violation of the Constitution,” the court wrote in its ruling.A district court judge had ordered Khan Suri’s release in May last year.The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which is helping represent Khan Suri, hailed the ruling on Thursday.“The First Amendment protects all of us — regardless of citizenship — and we will continue to fight for his constitutional rights”, said Eden Heilman, legal director of the ACLU in Virginia.“ICE abducted Dr. Khan Suri from his home in Virginia before moving him among five different ICE facilities across three states in a shameless attempt to find a court that would be friendlier to his unlawful detention,” Heilman said, using the acronym for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.The appeal court’s decision came after two other federal appeals courts overturned decisions by lower-court judges that had led to the release of pro-Palestinian campus activists.