The Trump administration has cracked down not just on illegal aliens in the U.S. but also on some legal foreign residents who've run afoul of the terms and conditions of their visas or other federal statutes.

That includes Georgetown University postdoctoral researcher Badar Khan Suri, who was ordered released from federal detention on Wednesday by a federal judge in Virginia, Fox News reported.

Suri, an Indian national in the U.S. on a student visa, was detained in March by federal officials after he allegedly spread pro-Hamas and anti-Israel propaganda.

Taken into custody for spreading pro-Hamas propaganda

Suri, who is married to a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Gaza and has resided legally in the U.S. since 2022 on a student visa, according to CNN, was taken into custody in March on allegations of spreading pro-Hamas propaganda and having ties to the terrorist organization, and though he was not charged with any crimes, he was at risk of having his visa revoked and being deported.

First detained outside his home in Virginia, he was later transported to federal detention facilities in Louisiana and then Texas while awaiting deportation, which he was determined to be eligible for by Secretary of State Marco Rubio under a specific provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

At the time of his detention, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security declared, "Suri was a foreign exchange student at Georgetown University actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media.

"Suri has close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas," the official added. "The Secretary of State issued a determination on March 15, 2025 that Suri’s activities and presence in the United States rendered him deportable under INA section 237(a)(4)(C)(i)."

That particular provision of the INA states that any foreign national in the U.S. can be rendered deportable if they are "an alien whose presence or activities in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States."

Judge ordered detainee released

Following a hearing on Wednesday in a federal court in Virginia, per Fox News, U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles ruled from the bench that Suri must be immediately released from custody, given the judge's determination that the government had failed to prove its claims about the deportable status of the detainee.

According to CNN, the judge said, "I gave the government multiple opportunities to submit any type of filing to controvert these claims or support their opposition to these motions, and they declined."

As such, Suri was ordered released without bond, though he must remain in Virginia and must attend further court proceedings in the state in person, though he would be allowed to virtually attend his separate but related deportation proceedings in a federal immigration court in Texas.

Lawyer and detainee complain about detention, conditions of custody

Sophia Gregg, an ACLU attorney who represented Suri, claimed his detention was "punitive in purpose" and related to not just his pro-Gaza statements but also his wife's Palestinian heritage and her father's former role as a senior advisor to the now-deceased Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed last year by a targeted Israeli strike while hiding out in Iran, per CNN.

"He should have never been arrested and jailed for his constitutionally protected speech, just because our government disagrees with him," Gregg said, echoing the judge's determination that Suri's detention likely violated the First Amendment-protected right to free speech and the Fifth Amendment-protected right to due process, according to NBC News.

As for Suri, he told reporters after his release, "There was no charge, there was nothing. They made a subhuman out of me," and further complained about how he'd been shackled while being transferred between detention centers as well as how he'd only belatedly been provided with certain religious accommodations -- such as halal food, a prayer mat, and a Quran -- and a bed in a dorm room after being held for several days in the crowded Texas facility.