The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today applauded a judge’s order to release Georgetown scholar Badar Khan Suri, who was arrested and detained by ICE, apparently due to his wife’s connections to Gaza and criticism of the Israeli government’s genocide.
A federal judge found that Suri, who has been held in Texas since March, raised substantial First Amendment claims. The judge said government attorneys had not offered evidence to refute Suri’s claims that he was being unconstitutionally punished for his criticism of U.S. support for Israel’s Gaza genocide.
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad, who was in the courtroom for today’s hearing, said:
“We applaud this ruling, which is the latest important example of the judiciary pushing back against the Trump administration’s brazenly unconstitutional effort to deport college students whose only offense is speaking out against U.S. support for the Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza. All of these students must go free and the Trump administration must respect free speech.”
Yesterday, CAIR encouraged community members to attend a hearing for Suri in Alexandria, Virginia.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com