Trump Administration Petitions Supreme Court to Reinstated Detention of Pro-Palestinian Academic

The Trump administration has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that resulted in the release of a Georgetown University scholar known for his advocacy for Palestinian rights and his opposition to Israel’s military operations in Gaza.

On Monday, the Department of Justice requested that the high court review whether federal immigration statutes prevent a district judge from ordering the release of Badar Khan Suri. Suri had argued that his detention constituted a violation of his First Amendment free speech and Fifth Amendment due process rights.

An Indian national, Suri was detained by immigration officials in March 2025 as part of a broader administration effort to deport foreign nationals involved in pro-Palestinian activism on American campuses. Following his arrest, he was transferred to Texas. In May 2025, a district court judge ordered his release, determining that he had a high likelihood of proving his arrest was a retaliatory measure against his constitutionally protected speech. The administration has contested this, arguing that the judiciary lacked the authority to intervene in the matter.

In July, a 2-1 panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Suri, stating that judges maintain the authority to hear challenges regarding unconstitutional detentions, even when those individuals are undergoing separate deportation proceedings in immigration courts.

In the petition filed Monday, Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that the 4th Circuit’s decision was erroneous and could undermine national immigration enforcement by allowing detainees to bypass immigration courts to challenge their deportations. “That is all practically disastrous,” Sauer wrote.

Sauer further noted that a different appellate court reached a contrary conclusion earlier this year, overturning a ruling that had freed Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist associated with Columbia University. Khalil’s legal team intends to appeal that ruling to the Supreme Court. In Monday’s filing, Sauer urged the justices to hear both Suri’s and Khalil’s cases simultaneously to provide a definitive resolution to the legal conflict.

Legal representatives for Suri have not yet responded to requests for comment.

Suri serves as a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding within the School of Foreign Service. At the time of his arrest, he was residing in Virginia with his wife, a U.S. citizen.

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