Indians in US must comply with local laws: MEA on deportation of Indian students 'spreading Hamas propaganda'

Indian students in the United States must follow American laws, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday. These remarks came after a postdoctoral researcher at Georgetown University was detained and another Indian PhD student chose to leave for Canada.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said neither of them sought help from Indian missions in the US.

Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University in Washington DC, was detained on Monday night by the Department of Homeland Security for allegedly “actively spreading Hamas propaganda” and was accused of having links with the Palestinian armed group A US federal judge ruled and stopped Suri from being deported.

This comes shortly after Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian student at Columbia University, left for Canada after her visa was revoked. She was accused of “advocating for violence and terrorism” and supporting Hamas.

The Indian embassy and consulates in the US will help students facing any difficulties, Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing while responding to a question.

Jaiswal said decisions on visa and immigration policy are the sole prerogative of respective countries and the respective laws must be complied with.

“When it comes to visa and immigration policy, it is something that lies within the sovereign functions of a country.”

“We, on our side, we expect that when we have foreign nationals coming to India, they abide by our laws and regulations. And similarly, it is our expectation that when Indian nationals are abroad, they must also comply with local laws and regulations,” he said.

On Suri’s detention, Jaiswal said, “We are given to understand through media reports that this particular individual, he has been detained.”

“Neither the US government nor this individual has approached us or the embassy. So, this is what we understand,” he said.

On the case involving Srinivasan, Jaiswal said the Indian side is not aware of her getting in touch with the Indian embassy or any consulate in the US for help.

“We only came to know of her departure from the US from media reports… We understand that she has gone to Canada,” he said.

Srinivasan had entered the US on an F-1 student visa as a doctoral student in Urban Planning at Columbia University, the Department of Homeland Security said.

It alleged that Srinivasan was “involved in activities supporting” Hamas.

The Department of State had revoked her visa on March 5. The Department of Homeland Security said it has obtained video footage of Srinivasan using the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Home App to self-deport on March 11.

Jaiswal said that a sizable number of Indian students are studying in the US and that India is keen to bolster educational ties with the US.

“The knowledge partnership and participation of our students or the enrolment of our students in universities of the US and the expansion of the knowledge partnership is an important element in our relationship, and we want to foster these ties further,” he said.

With inputs from PTI