May 6, 2025, Alvarado, TX – Today Hassan Ahmad of HMA Law Firm and Professor Nermeen Saba Arastu of CUNY School of Law appeared before Immigration Judge Margaret MacGregor for the initial immigration hearing in the case of Dr. Badar Khan Suri, the Georgetown scholar arrested and detained by ICE for his First Amendment protected speech and associations related to Palestine. The hearing was held in a remote Texas town, over an hour outside Dallas and more than 1,500 miles from Dr. Khan Suri’s family in Virginia—an outcome of his  retaliatory transfer by ICE. 

During the hearing, known as a master calendar hearing, counsel requested basic information so that Dr. Khan Suri would be aware of which specific acts or conduct the government alleges to justify his detention and potential deportation. His attorneys asked for the arrest warrant, the alleged “Rubio Determination,” and records detailing the basis and process of Dr. Khan Suri’s arrest. 

Judge MacGregor granted the government 10 days to produce the requested documents and respond to Dr. Khan Suri’s motion to terminate the case. However, counsel for the government would only commit to producing the “Rubio Determination.” A follow-up hearing has been scheduled for June 3, 2025. This immigration court case challenging the Trump administration’s  deportation of Dr. Khan Suri is different from his federal court case in Virginia challenging the constitutionality of his arrest and detention. 

Professor Nermeen Arastu emphasized the troubling lack of transparency in Dr. Khan Suri’s immigration  case: “It is important to note that in response to our very simple request for the arrest records and the Secretary of State’s determination in this case, the government would only commit to providing the Rubio Determination. We are gravely concerned about the circumstances surrounding Dr. Khan Suri’s arrest and deportation and will continue to pursue every possible legal avenue to ensure his constitutional rights are protected—both in federal court and in the immigration court system.” 

Attorney Hassan Ahmad added, “At this early stage, we are encouraged today by the fact that Judge MacGregor showed a commitment to protecting our client’s due process rights. The arguments we have advanced will require this court to meaningfully engage in the motions before it, and we are hopeful that the judge will hold the government accountable for meeting its burden to sustain any charges of deportability.” 

On March 17th, masked DHS agents arrested Dr. Badar Khan Suri, an Indian national and postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University specializing in religion and peace studies. He is married to a Palestinian-American U.S. citizen. Prior to his arrest, both Dr. Khan Suri and his wife were doxxed by Canary Mission and CAMERA. He is detained in the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, 1500 miles from his wife and three young children. The Trump administration is seeking to expel him from the country for protected speech and associations. 

For more information, please see the Center for Constitutional Rights case page and the ACLU Virginia case page. 

Dr. Khan Suri is represented by the ACLU of Virginia, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the HMA Law Firm, and the Immigrants and Non-Citizens Rights Clinic at the CUNY School of Law.