Indian students in US must comply with local laws: MEA

Indian students in the US must comply with local laws, the external affairs ministry said on Friday following the detention of a postdoctoral fellow in Virginia and the self-deportation of another student over activities seen as Palestinian causes.

The Indian embassy and consulates in the US will help students facing any difficulties, though the two students against whom American authorities have taken action have not reached out for assistance, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a regular media briefing.

Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University, was detained by operatives of the Department of Homeland Security, reportedly for supporting the Palestinian cause, in Arlington, Virginia, on Monday night. His detention came less than a week after Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian student at Columbia University, self-deported to Canada on being accused of involvement in activities supporting Hamas.

Jaiswal made it clear that visa and immigration policy are the sovereign functions of a country. “On our side, we expect that when we have foreign nationals coming to India, they abide by our laws and regulations,” he said. “Similarly, it is our expectation that when Indian nationals are abroad, they must also comply with local laws and regulations.”

Referring to Suri’s detention, Jaiswal said, “Neither the US government nor this individual has approached us or the embassy.”

The Indian side is also not aware of Srinivasan getting in touch with the Indian embassy or any consulate in the US for help, he said. “We only came to know of her departure from the US from media reports...and we understand that she has gone to Canada,” he said.

However, Srinivasan has told the media in interviews that she wants help from Indian authorities in addressing the situation. She has also denied involvement in any activities such as protests supporting the Hamas or Palestinian causes.

Jaiswal noted that there is a large number of Indian students in the US and this figure is growing, and that the Indian side is keen to bolster ties with the US in the education sector.

“The knowledge partnership and participation of our students or 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.

The Indian embassy and consulate in the US will help all students facing problems and ensure their well-being and safety, he said.

According to the website of the Indian embassy in Washington, there were about 300,000 Indian students in the US as of January 2025, mostly in graduate programmes in STEM fields. The US state department’s website states that Indian students in the US contribute almost $8 billion annually to the American economy.

The action taken by US authorities against Suri and Srinivasan as part of a wider crackdown by the Trump administration against anyone seen as supporting Palestinian causes has heightened concerns among Indian students.

A US district court judge on Thursday blocked the deportation of Suri following his arrest and the threat of his expulsion. The US Department of Homeland Security has accused him of “spreading Hamas propaganda” and having “close connections to a known or suspected terrorist”. Suri’s lawyer and employer have denied the allegation.

Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles said in her order that Suri “shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the Court issues a contrary order”.

Suri is married to Mapheze Saleh, whose father, Ahmed Yousef, was a former deputy foreign minister in the Hamas government in Gaza.