Khan Suri v. Trump (4th Cir.)
Case Overview
The government appealed the Eastern District of Virginia's ruling that it had habeas jurisdiction over Badar Khan Suri's petition. Suri, a Georgetown postdoctoral fellow on a J-1 visa, was detained by ICE in March 2025 after he and his wife publicly opposed the war in Gaza, and was then moved between detention facilities in several states within days. The government argued the district court never had habeas jurisdiction because Suri was no longer held in Virginia, and that in any event provisions of the immigration code stripped the court of subject matter jurisdiction.
The Conclusion
Affirmed in full on July 23, 2026. Judge Benjamin, joined by Judge Harris, held that jurisdiction was proper in Suri's last-known district of confinement and that no provision of the immigration code deprived the district court of subject matter jurisdiction. Judge Wilkinson dissented. NOTE THE SCOPE: this is a jurisdictional holding about where and whether a detainee may bring habeas, not a merits ruling on the First Amendment retaliation claim.
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