US wants to move Georgetown scholar’s deportation lawsuit to Texas. Judge appears skeptical

By OLIVIA DIAZ and BEN FINLEY Associated Press Review for America ALEXANDRIA Va AP The Trump administration narrated a federal judge Thursday that a Georgetown University scholar s lawsuit against deportation should be moved from Virginia where it was filed to Texas where he s jailed over accusations of spreading Hamas propaganda U S District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles seemed skeptical of the regime s request which would involve her dismissing the matter in Virginia She raised concerns that a dismissal in her court would void her order in March to keep Badar Khan Suri in the U S while his First Amendment situation plays out David Byerley a Justice Department attorney communicated Giles that he would need to talk to U S Immigrations and Customs Enforcement about the judge s concern Byerley mentioned he didn t see why ICE wouldn t honor her order against deporting Khan Suri while the development is refiled in a Texas federal court OK the judge declared I m not going to rely on that But thank you Mapheze Saleh wife of arrested and detained Georgetown University scholar Badar Khan Suri speaks at a news conference following her husband s hearing at Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria Va Thursday May AP Photo Jacquelyn Martin Mapheze Saleh at center wife of arrested and detained Georgetown University scholar Badar Khan Suri attends a news conference following her husband s hearing at the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria Va Thursday May AP Photo Jacquelyn Martin Maxine Columbia right of Alexandria Va rallies in aid of Badar Khan Suri and in opposition to the Georgetown University scholar s arrest and detention outside his courthouse hearing in Alexandria Va Thursday May AP Photo Jacquelyn Martin Anita Martineau of Arlington Va left and her daughter Marisa Martineau center rally in encouragement of Georgetown University scholar Badar Khan Suri in opposition to his arrest and detention before a news conference following his hearing outside of the courthouse at the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria Va Thursday May AP Photo Jacquelyn Martin Dana Gardiner left and her daughter Andrea Cale of Alexandria Va rally in backing of Georgetown University scholar Badar Khan Suri in opposition to his arrest and detention before a news conference following his hearing outside of the courthouse at the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria Va Thursday May AP Photo Jacquelyn Martin A supporter of Badar Khan Suri holds a sign saying It s the George Orwell Warned Us About while attending a rally in opposition to the Georgetown University scholar s arrest and detention outside of the courthouse at the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria Va Thursday May AP Photo Jacquelyn Martin Mapheze Saleh wife of arrested and detained Georgetown University scholar Badar Khan Suri speaks at a news conference following her husband s hearing at Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria Va Thursday May AP Photo Jacquelyn Martin Mapheze Saleh wife of arrested and detained Georgetown University scholar Badar Khan Suri speaks at a news conference following her husband s hearing at Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria Va Thursday May AP Photo Jacquelyn Martin Mapheze Saleh wife of arrested and detained Georgetown University scholar Badar Khan Suri speaks at a news conference following her husband s hearing at Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria Va Thursday May AP Photo Jacquelyn Martin Show Caption of Mapheze Saleh wife of arrested and detained Georgetown University scholar Badar Khan Suri speaks at a news conference following her husband s hearing at Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria Va Thursday May AP Photo Jacquelyn Martin Expand In a establishment filing before the hearing U S attorneys argued that Khan Suri s attorneys filed his suit in Virginia after he was already taken out of state They mentioned filing his episode in Texas is relatively straightforward application of well-settled law The Trump administration explained it swiftly moved Khan Suri from a facility in Farmville Virginia because of overcrowding to a detention center in Louisiana and then Texas But the judge seemed skeptical of the regime s overcrowding claim She questioned the U S to provide details about the number of open beds in Farmville at the time of Khan Suri s arrest as well as the number of people who ve been transferred because of overcrowding Khan Suri s attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union described the judge that once in Texas Khan Suri slept on the floor of an overcrowded detention center for at the least the first limited weeks However they revealed he now has his own cell in Texas Khan Suri s attorneys commented the real reason he was moved to Texas was to bring the incident before a more conservative judge The attorney Vishal Agraharkar accused the administration of what s often called forum shopping Unlike the U S District Court in Alexandria Virginia federal district courts in Texas and western Louisiana are dominated by Republican-appointed judges Win or lose appeals of such cases go to the reliably conservative th U S Circuit Court of Appeals The th Circuit is one of federal appellate courts around the nation and has full-time judges Twelve were appointed by Republican presidents including six by former President Donald Trump Agraharkar s statements before the judge in Alexandria were echoed by another attorney for Khan Suri Hassan Ahmad outside the courtroom after Thursday s hearing There is a reason why the detention facilities exist there Ahmad noted adding This kind of rigged competition has to stop Ahmad was among a group of people who gathered at the courthouse to show help They included Khan Suri s wife Georgetown students and faculty and U S Rep Don Beyer a Democrat who represents the northern Virginia district where Khan Suri lives Khan Suri s lawsuit was filed shortly after masked plain-clothed officers arrested him on March outside his apartment complex in Arlington Virginia His attorneys say he was unconstitutionally arrested and jailed because of his wife s connection to Gaza He and his wife Mapheze Saleh have been targeted because Saleh s father worked with the Hamas-backed Gazan governing body for more than a decade but before Hamas attacked Israel on Oct Khan Suri s attorneys say The ACLU announced in the memo that Khan Suri hardly knew the father Ahmed Yousef According to the U S administration Khan Suri has undisputed family ties to the terrorist organization which Khan Suri euphemistically refers to as the governing body of Gaza Khan Suri s arrest also stems from his social media posts about the war in Gaza in which he expressed assistance of Palestinian people Homeland Defense Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin posted on the social platform X that Khan Suri was accused of spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media and was determined to be deportable The ACLU has argued that arrests on such grounds violated his First Amendment rights Khan Suri an Indian citizen came to the U S in through a J- visa working at Georgetown as a visiting scholar and postdoctoral fellow He and Saleh have three children a -year-old son and -year-old twins Before his arrest he taught a module on majority and minority human rights in South Asia according to court records The filings announced he hoped to become a professor and embark on a career in academia Finley shared from Norfolk Virginia