- Badar Khan Suri was detained by ICE on charges of spreading Hamas propaganda and antisemitism on social media
- He was held in high-security detention with limited recreation and initially denied proper religious accommoda
- A judge ruled his detention violated his First and Fifth Amendment rights, leading to his release after months
Badar Khan Suri, the Georgetown University postdoctoral scholar, who had been arrested by immigration officers and faced deportation, had been in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement for months. He was arrested on the charges of "actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media."
Khan Suri "has close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas," Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in March on X.
He explained how he helped manage his 5-year-old sons to get to terms with his absence. He credited his wife, Maphaz Ahmad Yousef, and called her a "blessing", since she was the support system for their children.
"For my younger twins, I created a story they could hold on to: I told them I was traveling and had gotten lost somewhere in the clouds, trying to find my way back home," Khan Suri said in an email to NBC News.
He said he took efforts to parent his three children "with love, creativity and resilience" from afar, while at detention. It has been a month now since his release from the ICE facility in Texas, after a judge ruled that his detention violated the First Amendment right to free speech and the Fifth Amendment right to due process.
"For my family also, I feel the power dynamic changed. I am no more the provider or protector I once was," he said. "But I have survivor's clarity, as I saw the injustice. I am rebuilding my journey with meaning and truth."
He also reflected how parenting from detention was a "heartbreaking" experience but it "kept him going".
He has now returned to his regular parenting days, bringing his kids to the bus stop, and said that he has earned the privilege of being identified as the favourite parent in the household. "Even the twins say 'Baba' when I ask who they love more," he joked. "Before, it was always a clear 'Mama.'"
He described how the first week in custody was a "nightmare".
"That night, my wife was only able to bring back my belongings. My elder son only saw my bag returning home and not me," he said of the night of his arrest. "I was sad for my children, who had lost their father, their security cover, their ease in life."
He told how his children kept aside food for him, expecting him to show up any moment. "They would draw pictures for me, and even save cupcakes or slices of pizza for me as if I might come back at any moment - they refused to let anyone else touch my share."
Although his younger sons felt comforted by the stories of him travelling through skies, his 9-year-old older son understood more and had become more withdrawn. "I tried to bring humour into our conversations when I could," he said. "I'd tell him I had a PlayStation 4, a basketball court and a soccer field where I was, and he would laugh and ask questions about them."
Suri was not even provided a bed at the detention centre, and used to sleep in the TV room where the television played from 5am to 2am, according to the petition. He also received halal food only after 5 days.
"On April 2, officers came and told him that he had complained through his lawyer about his religious accommodations and asked him for more details," the petition said. "After Dr. Khan Suri reaffirmed his needs, he was given a prayer mat, a Quran, and provided a space on a bed in the dorm, outside of the TV room."
He was classified as "requiring high security" and had to wear a bright-red uniform. He was told he fell under the category of "with a known criminal group".
"Due to his classification and security protocols at the facility, Dr. Khan Suri is only permitted two hours per week of recreation," the petition said.
To cope with the difficult conditions at the detention centre, he said, "I would write about them, I would think about them - like when their school bus would come, when would it return, what they do during the day, what they were drawing," he said. "When I saw drawings by kids of other detainees, I felt the love for my children."
On the morning of his release, he said, "When they saw me, all three were shouting with joy, hugging and kissing me," he said. "For the twins, I had finally come back from the 'clouds.'"
