The arrest of researcher Georgetown escalates Trump’s speech action, scientists say | Civil Rights News

Washington, DC – Nader Hashemi, a professor of the Middle East and Islamic Policy at Georgetown University, was a vocal critic of trying to silence protesters and academics by Palestine in the midst of Israel in Gaza.

These efforts have reached new heights under the administration of President Donald Trump, who took an extraordinary measure of custody and efforts last week to deport the Columbia Mahmoud Khalil University student, a permanent resident of a US citizen.

Then the immigration authorities came to one of Hashemi’s students. Earlier this week, agents arrested Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral associate at Georgetown Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian understanding, which hashems directing.

“It is shocking and somehow confirms our worst fears that authoritarian repression at US universities is spreading under Trump’s administration,” Hashemi said.

Groups of civilian freedoms and observers of law rejected – and challenged -Khalil’s attempt to deportation, which hashems and other observers describe as an extension of anti-Palestinian bias in the US government.

This has often involved connecting anti-Jewish feelings and support for Hamas, which is now categorizing as a “terrorist organization”, with statements criticizing the Israeli military action or support of Palestinians, they say.

But Hashema and his colleagues see the targeting of Suri, who is in the US on a student visa, as a step further, given that he was detained because of public protests, but because of his alleged personal attitudes.

Khaled Elgindy, a visiting scholar in Georgetown focusing on Palestinian-Israeli affairs, said that the efforts of Trump administration seem to enter the “different area with this case”, which extends beyond the owners of student visas and residents of the US sanctioned for their protest activity.

“It seems that this person is targeted, not because of his activism,” he said, “but simply on suspicion of retaining certain views.”

‘Adverse effects of foreign policy’

For its part, the US Ministry of Homeland Security on Wednesday confirmed that State Secretary Marco Rubio had approved Suria’s deportation.

Tricia spokeswoman McLaughlin said Rubio decided to state the same law used to justify attempting to deport Khalil.

This is a provision of the 1952 immigration and citizenship law, which gives the state secretary to remove any non-assembled whose presence in the US is considered “adverse effects of foreign policy.”

McLaughlin accused Suri of “actively expanding Hamas’s propaganda and promoting anti -Semitism on social media,” without giving further details. The Ministry of Homeland Security did not respond to the request for further information by Al Jazeere.

She also said that Suri “has a close relationship with a famous or suspicious terrorist, who is a senior Hamas advisor.”

On Wednesday, Suria’s wife of Mapheza Saleh confirmed Al Jazeera that she was an American citizen. Meanwhile, Ahmed Yousef, a former counselor for a assassination of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh’s political leader, confirmed to the New York Times that Suri was his son -in -law.

Yousef told reporters that he had left his position in the political wing of Hamas more than ten years ago and publicly criticized the group’s decision to attack Israel on October 7, 2023. He said Suri was not involved in “political activism”, which is even less support for Hamas.

Suri has rejected the allegations against him, said his lawyer, Hassan Ahmad, the media told us. His legal team, which includes the Virginia Office of the US Union for Civic Freedom (ACLU), filed an application at the US district court for the eastern Virginia district seeking his release.

On Thursday, he remained in the US immigration and customs custody in Louisiani.

In a Wednesday, Georgetown University also announced that he supports members of his communities “rights to free and opening a discussion and discussion, even if the basic ideas may be difficult, controversial or objected.”

In the meantime, the Alwaleed Center on Thursday issued a passionate defense of Suria, saying that he became the victim of “the Trump administration campaign to destroy higher education in the United States and punish their political opponents.”

‘A direct threat to learning’

Both Suri and his wife Saleh have previously singled out “Campus Watch”, a project from the Middle East Forum, who says “examinations and criticizing studies in the Middle East at universities in North America.”

They are critics defendant The project to be a tool for silencing the criticism of Israel in higher education.

Hashemi, meanwhile, described Suri as “a highly respected and serious academic.”

“In many ways, [Suri] He was exactly the opposite of Mahmoud Khalil, in the sense that he was not an organizer or leader. He was simply a researcher and postdoctoral associate at our center, “said Hashemi,” who has just worked on the topics of minority rights, Malejnik and the problem of authoritarianism. “

In the meantime, Elgindy said that Trump’s administration continues to accept “dangerous connection” when it comes to complex discussions about Palestinian rights and resistance.

“Indeed, any expression of solidarity with Palestinians or criticism for Israel is considered to be in itself, as well as anti -Semitic and inherently supports terrorism and hamas,” he said.

Elgindy described the “true atmosphere of fear” when it comes to opening an academic debate about the complex realities defined by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“This really decreases at the heart of academic freedom – if people have to censor, if students are afraid to ask certain questions or raise certain points, because maybe someone in the class is recorded and shared with some of these extremist groups outside the doxxing students,” he said.

“The intention is to cool the debate and make people worse about whether they should express certain views at all.”

‘Mild attack’

On Thursday, Congressmen Don Beyer, who represents northern Virginia, also separated on Suria’s custody, calling him a violation of the right to “procedure” and “an apparent attack on the first amendment”, referring to the protection of the American Constitution for freedom of speech.

His statement offered an overview of the principles that would probably appear in federal courts.

Trump’s administration has taken wide position that these constitutional rights do not expand to temporary visas or even permanent residents of the US.

But the courts have largely supported the right of immigrants to enjoy free speech, freedom of gatherings and other basic freedoms.

Beyer called on the judge to quickly reach the judgment of Suri’s challenge to his direct deportation, pointing to the “record of the administration of attempting to deny constitutional rights in ways that are difficult to undo before the judicial drugs can be provided.”

Earlier this week, my ingredient Badar Khan Suri, postdoctoral colleague Georgetown, was detained outside his home in Rosslyn. He remains in custody even though he has not been charged with the crime, which is a clear violation of his constitutional rights. Must be released.https://t.co/ptqvm0ys2k pic.twitter.com/auppvfuq0k

– tail. Don Beyer (@Repdonbeyer) 20. March 2025

Late on Thursday, the federal judge banned Trump’s administration to immediately deport Suri. His lawyers told the Reuters News Agency that he was waiting for a hearing date at the immigration court.

Both Hashemi and Elgindy, meanwhile, pointed out the need to take a firm position against Trump’s procedures, while recognizing heavy landscape educators and administrators.

In addition to the risk of professors at temporary working visas, Trump also obliged to reduce the funding of institutions that do not take enough serious measures against protesters and “agitators”.

His administration has already reduced $ 400 million in grants and contracts for Columbia University.

“I think the worst is yet to come,” Hashema said. “Unless people get up and push back.”