The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals today rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to rearrest Georgetown University researcher Dr. Badr Khan Suri, affirming a lower court order asking the government to release him on bail while his case continues. The court also rejected the government’s request to transfer the case from Virginia to Texas.
“[In] “Our point of view” The court wrote “Rejecting judicial review of detention claims like Sorey’s misreads the statutes of Congress and undermines the protections afforded to all persons on U.S. soil under habeas corpus.”
The court later expanded: “[An] The unbroken line of case law is also consistent with common sense: if a noncitizen objects to being detained pending deportation, waiting for deportation proceedings will do him no good. They have already been detained for allegedly violating the constitution. This “absurd” reading of the Iraqi national law would make these detention allegations “effectively unreviewable,” and the Supreme Court has repeatedly refused to adopt it.
In March 2025, ICE arrested and detained Dr. Suri, a legal visa holder from India and whose wife is a US citizen, outside his home in Virginia in retaliation for his associations and rhetoric in support of Palestinian rights. Dr. Suri was detained for nearly six weeks thousands of miles away from his wife and children in a notorious private detention center in Texas known Because of its human rights violations. Federal judge commander He was released from custody in May 2025 while his case continued in federal court.
“Today reaffirms my belief that an independent judiciary remains the true guardian of freedom, due process and the rule of law. I am deeply grateful to the judges who upheld these constitutional principles and gave my case the careful and thoughtful consideration it deserved. Dr. Badr Khan is a Syrian. “I remain, as ever, committed to seeking justice through legal and peaceful means. We must remember that a democracy without habeas corpus is a democracy in name only; as the Honorable Court aptly noted, the scope of habeas corpus ‘should not be subject to manipulation by those whose power it is designed to limit’. I am proud of those who fought for me, and I am proud of every moment of my life. Be brave and stand up for justice.” Free Palestine.”
On appeal, the Trump administration argued that federal district courts do not have the authority to review the constitutionality of Dr. Suri’s detention until the Justice Department-controlled immigration process is completed, which could take months or even years. The administration also said that because it quickly removed Dr. Suri from Virginia without notifying his family or his attorney, the Virginia court had no jurisdiction to consider his petition, and it would have to be handled by a court in Texas, where it chose to take him.
Today, a panel of 4th Circuit judges rejected both arguments by a 2-1 decision, concluding that federal courts should be able to review constitutional claims arising from immigration detention, and that his case should remain in Virginia.
He said: “We are happy that Dr. Al-Suri will remain free with his family, and we are grateful that the court saw the government’s brazen attempts to silence pro-Palestine speech.” Noor Zafar is a senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Immigrant Rights Project. “The federal government cannot circumvent the First Amendment by imprisoning people for their speech and denying them a hearing. Immigration laws cannot be abused to silence dissent, and we are grateful that justice prevailed today.”
This ruling is the third opinion by a federal appeals court addressing the question of whether the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) bars immediate federal court review of a noncitizen’s claim of unlawful detention in retaliation for his speech. In January, the Third Circuit ruled against Mahmoud Khalil, holding that the National Coalition prohibits such claims. Just two days ago, the Second Circuit ruled against Mohsen Mahdawi, agreeing with the Third Circuit’s analysis. Addressing Khalil against Trump Decision, the Fourth Circuit was clear: “We disagree.”
“We are grateful that the court recognized the basic principle that the government cannot escape judicial review for its clearly unconstitutional actions — here, arresting Dr. Khan Suri, removing him far from his family and community, detaining him and attempting to deport him for nothing other than his associations and advocacy for constitutionally protected Palestinian rights,” he said. Astha Sharma Pokharel, staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights.
As happened with Mr. Khalil, Mr. Al-Mahdawi, and other students, Dr. Al-Suri was arrested in retaliation for his speech in support of Palestinian rights. He was also targeted because of his American citizen wife’s speech, her Palestinian origins, and her family ties. Dr. Al-Suri criticized on social media American support for the Israeli attack on Gaza, motivated by the time he spent volunteering in Gaza and fear for his wife’s family members who still lived there with no means of escape during the war. The administration has falsely claimed that Dr. Suri’s presence in the United States is “prejudicial to a compelling foreign policy interest” and therefore, under a rarely used provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act, has the right to deport him. Dr. Suri’s immigration court proceedings are ongoing.
“Immigration and Customs Enforcement kidnapped Dr. Khan Suri from his home in Virginia before transferring him between five different ICE facilities in three states in a shameful attempt to find a court more friendly to his unlawful detention,” ICE said. ACLU-VA Legal Director Eden Hellman. “We are pleased that the Fourth Circuit saw through the Trump administration’s blatant attempt to bend the law to their will and rejected their attempt to redetain our client thousands of miles away from his family in Virginia. The First Amendment protects all of us — regardless of our citizenship — and we will continue to fight for his constitutional rights.”
Dr. Suri is represented in his federal lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Virginia, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Van Der Hout LLP.
For more information, see Case page. The opinion can be read here.
This press release is available here and here.
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