The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 2-1 decision affirming that a lower court judge had the authority to order the release of Badar Khan Suri, an Indian citizen and Georgetown University scholar. The appeals court rejected the Trump administration’s argument that federal immigration law prevented such a release order.
Khan Suri was arrested in March 2025 as part of a broader enforcement effort targeting foreign nationals engaged in pro-Palestinian activism on college campuses. A district court judge had previously ordered his release in May. The appeals court found that his detention violated protections under the U.S. Constitution, including due process and free speech rights. The court also denied the administration’s request to transfer the case from Virginia to Texas.
The American Civil Liberties Union, representing Khan Suri, celebrated the ruling. According to the organization, Khan Suri was moved among five different detention facilities across three states before the case was heard. The ACLU characterized the detention as unlawful.
The decision creates a split among federal appeals courts on this issue. Two other appeals courts have recently sided with the Trump administration in similar cases involving pro-Palestinian activists, ruling that lower court judges lacked authority to order releases or that such matters should be resolved through the immigration court system rather than federal courts. These conflicting rulings suggest the Supreme Court may intervene to resolve the legal question.
The administration has relied on a rarely-used provision of immigration law that allows the secretary of state to remove individuals deemed to have “adverse foreign policy consequences” for the United States. A Supreme Court ruling could have significant implications for the civil rights of noncitizens in the country.
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