Wisconsin Palestinian community leader can be deported, immigration judge rules

A US immigration judge ruled on Wednesday that Salah Sarsour, a Muslim and Palestinian community leader in his hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, can be deported per the wishes of the Trump administration. In a press briefing following the decision, his lawyer, Patrick Taurel, confirmed that he will appeal. For the time being, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cannot re-detain Sarsour because a federal judge's order ensuring he walks free remains in place. As with a number of Palestinian Green Card holders before Sarsour, such as former Columbia University students Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi, as well as the Georgetown University scholar Badar Khan Suri, who is married to a Palestinian American, the US government arrested Salah in March on the grounds that he is a threat to national security. His legal team and advocates maintain the arrest was because of his speech in defence of Palestinian rights. Sarsour sits on the board of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), which pro-Israeli groups have claimed is a front for Hamas. Read more: Wisconsin Palestinian community leader can be deported, immigration judge rules Patrick Taurel, left, lead immigration attorney with the firm Grossman, Young, & Hammond, shakes hands with his client, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, Salah Sarsour, after an event publicising his case at Busboys and Poets in Washington, DC, on 21 September 2026 (Yasmine El-Sabawi/MEE)