Alexandria, Louisiana - The Trump administration has detained and is now attempting to deport a Georgetown University academic from India in its latest attack on support for Palestinian human rights.

Badar Khan Suri was arrested Monday night at his home in Rosslyn, Virginia. He is now being held in Alexandria, Louisiana, Politico reported.

Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University's Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, had a student visa and is married to a US citizen, Mapheze Saleh.

Suri’s lawyer, Hassan Ahmad, reportedly argued in a petition challenging the detention that his client is being targeted due to his wife's Palestinian heritage.

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According to Georgetown's website, Saleh is from Gaza. She has written for Middle East Monitor, Al Jazeera, and various Palestinian media outlets, and has worked with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Gaza.

The US Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to Fox News: "Suri was a foreign exchange student at Georgetown University actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media."

Offering no evidence for its claims, DHS continued: "Suri has close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas. The Secretary of State issued a determination on March 15, 2025 that Suri’s activities and presence in the United States rendered him deportable under [the Immigration and Nationality Act]."

The provision allows the secretary of state to deport noncitizens if their presence is deemed a threat to US foreign policy.

The Trump administration invoked the same law in detaining US green card holder Mahmoud Khalil, who played a prominent role in the Palestine solidarity movement at Columbia University.

Khalil's sudden arrest sparked mass public outrage and protests. A case challenging his detention is set to move forward in New Jersey despite US government efforts to have it heard in Louisiana.