Georgetown administrators expressed dismay. The Dean of the School of Foreign Service (SFS) wrote that he was “not aware that Badar has engaged in any illegal activity, nor [that] he posed a threat to the security of our campus.” He added: “Badar has been exercising his constitutionally protected rights to express his views on the war in the Middle East.” On the Doha campus, where I teach, the Dean invoked “principles of academic freedom and open inquiry.” While the US judiciary has temporarily blocked Suri’s deportation, similar cases under the new Trump administration raise pressing questions. Is this simply a matter of free speech or limits to dissent for non-citizens? Does the US have the right to deport resident aliens for political views expressed on student or work visas? And what should be done amidst extreme polarisation?