A Good News Wednesday!

We are winning in the courts!

Dr. Badar Khan Suri

Yesterday, July 1, 2025, in an important victory for the ancient writ of habeas corpus, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that Dr. Suri will remain out of custody while his (completely bogus) immigration court case grinds on.

Highlights:

• “Dr. Badar Khan Suri, who opposed the war in Gaza on social media, was detained by ICE after the government purportedly revoked his J-1 visa. The district court concluded that the government detained Suri in retaliation for his First Amendment activity, so it ordered his release pending the disposition of his habeas petition. The government moves us to stay the district court’s order pending appeal, and in the alternative, petitions for mandamus. We deny the government’s requests.”

• “Suri is an Indian national who holds a Ph.D. in Peace and Conflict Studies. … In 2022, Suri came to the United States on a J-1 exchange visa to study at Georgetown University, where he is now a post-doctoral scholar and teaches a class on minority rights in South Asia. … He is married to Mapheze Saleh, a United States citizen.”

• “The government asserts that, on March 15, 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a secret memorandum—which has yet to be disclosed—purportedly finding that Suri’s presence in the United States compromises American foreign policy interests. … The government later told Suri that it also revoked his visa, but it has not submitted evidence to that effect.”

• “On May 14, after another hearing, the [federal district] court granted Suri’s motion to return him to Virginia and to release him, concluding that Suri was detained in retaliation for protected speech and association. … And it found that Suri was entitled to bail because there was “no credible evidence supporting that he is a danger to the community” and that his release was necessary to “disrupt the chilling effect of retaliation.”

• “The government doesn’t contest the district court’s finding that it detained Suri in retaliation for his First Amendment activity.” [Wow!!!!!!!!]

• “Absent habeas relief, an immigration detainee can generally seek judicial review of a final order of removal— but the court would be powerless to remedy any unconstitutional detention that had already occurred. That is why we have habeas proceedings in the first place.” [Emphasis mine.]

• “Furthermore, the equities and the public interest lie firmly in Suri’s favor. The government doesn’t contest the district court’s finding that it detained Suri in retaliation for his First Amendment activity. … “The loss of First Amendment freedoms, for even minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury.” Elrod v. Burns, 427 U.S. 347, 373 (1976). A stay here would allow the government to immediately re-detain Suri, which would further chill speech protected by the First Amendment.” [Emphasis mine.]

• “To allow the government to undermine habeas jurisdiction by moving detainees without notice or accountability reduces the writ of habeas corpus to a game of jurisdictional hide-and-seek.”

There is more news, good and bad, today, but let’s leave it here.

Comments always welcome. THANK YOU! to all subscribers, free and paid.

Article I, Section 9, Clause 2 of the Constitution states: “The Privileges of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended…”

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