Immigration judge clears deportation of Milwaukee Muslim leader on security threat grounds

Jerusalem Post/World NewsUS President Donald Trump's administration, which has cracked down on pro-Palestinian voices, says Sarsour was convicted of throwing Molotov cocktails at the homes of Israeli armed forces.Follow us on Google general view outside the Warren E. Burger Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse before a preliminary hearing for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer Christian Castro on September 18, 2026 in St Paul, Minnesota. (photo credit: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)OCTOBER 1, 2026 10:01Updated: OCTOBER 1, 2026 10:02A US immigration judge ruled the US government can deport Palestinian American Salah Sarsour, who is the president of Wisconsin's largest mosque and a US permanent resident, under a Cold War-era law.Sarsour, who grew up in the West Bank, was detained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in late March and released in mid-June after a federal judge said he had raised a substantial free speech retaliation claim that would render his detention unlawful.Chicago Immigration Court Judge Jayme Salinardi sided late on Tuesday with the government's argument that Sarsour posed a security and foreign policy threat under the Cold War-era Immigration and Nationality Act, while rejecting the government's allegation that he lied on his green card application.Sarsour's legal team said on Wednesday they will appeal the ruling.Islamic Society of ​Milwaukee, Wisconsin's ​largest mosque, says Sarsour has lived ⁠in the US for over three decades.Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino looks on as he and his convoy stop at a gas station, days after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, US, January 13, 2026. (credit: REUTERS/Tim Evans/File Photo)Convicted in Israeli military court prior to moving to USThe mosque ​has said Sarsour was "being targeted on the basis of his Palestinian and Muslim background, and his advocacy ​for Palestinian rights."He has type 2 diabetes and lost more than 30 pounds in ICE detention, his legal team said.Sarsour has no criminal record in the US and was convicted as ​a teenager in an Israeli military court before he came to the United States, which the Trump administration noted to cast him as a threat. Sarsour says the government has known that information for decades.US President Donald Trump's administration, which has cracked down on pro-Palestinian voices, says Sarsour was convicted of throwing Molotov cocktails at the homes of Israeli armed forces. Sarsour denies committing such ​crimes and says he was tortured and coerced into past confessions.Follow us on Google