Trump admin asks top US court to reverse pro-Palestinian scholar’s release
US solicitor general challenges lower court's ruling on Georgetown scholar's detention, sparking constitutional debates.
The administration of United States President Donald Trump has asked the US Supreme Court to overturn the decision to release a Georgetown University scholar who had advocated for Palestinian rights and opposed Israel’s war in Gaza.
Georgetown scholar and postdoctoral fellow Badar Khan Suri was released last year after a judge heard claims that his detention violated his due process and free speech rights under the US Constitution.
On Monday, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) petitioned the high court to consider whether federal immigration law barred the lower-court judge from ordering Suri’s release.
Suri was brought to Texas after his detention and freed in May 2025 on the orders of a district court judge, on the grounds that he was likely to succeed in proving his arrest was in retaliation for his constitutionally protected speech.