Nicolai Haugsted
Trump administration wins key ruling in battle to deport Palestinian American mosque leader.
For more than three decades, Salah Sarsour has called the United States home. He holds a green card, has no criminal record in the country and serves as president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s largest mosque.
His future in America is now considerably less certain.
A US immigration judge has ruled that the Palestinian American community leader can be deported, handing the Trump administration a significant victory in a case that has become tangled up in a much larger fight over immigration, national security and pro-Palestinian speech.
Sarsour is not packing his bags just yet, however. His lawyers plan to appeal, and removal cannot take place while the legal process remains unresolved.
A Cold War-era law enters the picture
Chicago Immigration Court Judge Jayme Salinardi found Sarsour removable on foreign-policy grounds under a rarely used provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Federal authorities have argued that Sarsour represents a national security and foreign-policy concern. Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously invoked the provision against him, part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to remove several non-citizens known for advocating Palestinian rights.
Not every government argument survived the proceedings.
Salinardi rejected the allegation that Sarsour had lied to immigration authorities when applying for permanent residency.
Sarsour described the decision as “deeply disappointing” and made clear that the legal battle is far from finished.
“I will continue fighting to defend the right to free speech and to stay in the country I have called home for more than three decades,” he said according to Reuters.
Arrested, detained and eventually released
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested Sarsour in Milwaukee in March.
More than 80 days of immigration detention followed before US District Judge James Patrick Hanlon ordered his release in June. Hanlon found that Sarsour had raised a “substantial” claim that the government had retaliated against him over his political speech and advocacy for Palestinian rights.
Sarsour has lived in the United States since 1993 and has no criminal record there.
Much of the government’s case instead reaches back decades and thousands of miles, to Sarsour’s life before settling in America.
Decades-old convictions return to the spotlight
Sarsour grew up in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and was convicted by Israeli authorities over offenses dating back to his youth.
US officials have cited those convictions while arguing that he presents a security concern. Records referenced by the government include allegations involving a Molotov cocktail and stones thrown at Israeli military personnel, along with a later weapons-related conviction.
Sarsour disputes the accusations behind those cases.
His attorneys maintain that confessions were obtained after he was tortured and coerced while in Israeli custody. They also argue that US authorities have known about his history for decades, raising questions over why it has become grounds for action now.
The competing accounts have therefore turned events from Sarsour’s teenage years into a central part of a deportation fight unfolding more than 30 years after he settled in the United States.
His supporters see a free-speech battle
Sarsour’s role as an outspoken advocate for Palestinian rights adds another layer to the case.
The Islamic Society of Milwaukee has accused authorities of targeting its president because of his Palestinian and Muslim background and his political advocacy. His lawyers have similarly argued that the case carries consequences beyond Sarsour himself.
Federal authorities reject the suggestion that ordinary political criticism is the issue and have relied on foreign-policy and security grounds in seeking his removal.
Trump’s administration has pursued comparable immigration cases involving other pro-Palestinian activists, including Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi. Rubio has invoked a provision allowing the secretary of state to seek removal when a non-citizen’s presence is deemed capable of causing serious adverse foreign-policy consequences.
Deportation remains some distance away
Tuesday’s ruling does not put Sarsour on an immediate flight out of the country.
His attorneys can still seek protection from removal by arguing that he faces a risk of torture if sent back. Further appeals are also available, and his legal team says he cannot be deported while those proceedings remain pending.
Sarsour has warned that returning to the West Bank could put his life at risk. His lawyers have also raised concerns about Jordan appearing as a possible destination despite arguing that he has no legal right to live there.
For now, the man who has spent more than three decades building a life in Wisconsin remains in the United States — but with his immigration status facing a legal fight that is nowhere near finished.
