An immigration judge has ruled that the U.S. government can deport Salah Sarsour, the president of Wisconsin’s largest mosque and a longtime permanent resident, on the grounds that he poses a national security and foreign policy threat.

Sarsour, a Palestinian American who has lived in the United States for more than three decades and leads the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Milwaukee in late March 2026. He was held for over 80 days at a jail in Indiana before a federal judge ordered his release in June, finding he had raised a “substantial” claim that his detention was retaliation for his advocacy of Palestinian rights and criticism of Israel.

On Tuesday (Sept. 29/30, 2026), Chicago Immigration Court Judge Jayme Salinardi found Sarsour removable under a rarely used Cold War-era provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The ruling sided with the government’s argument that Sarsour constitutes a security and foreign-policy threat, based in part on a June 2025 memorandum from Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Salinardi rejected the government’s separate claim that Sarsour lied on his green card application.

The Record at Issue

Government attorneys have pointed to Sarsour’s decades-old convictions in Israeli military courts. As a teenager in the West Bank, he was imprisoned in 1988 after confessing to throwing a Molotov cocktail and stones at Israeli military personnel; he was later convicted in 1995 of attempting to possess weapons. Sarsour denies the underlying acts and says he was tortured and coerced into the confessions. His attorneys note he has no criminal record in the United States and that U.S. authorities have long known about the Israeli cases.

Sarsour Vows to Appeal

Sarsour called the decision “deeply disappointing” and said he will appeal.

“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.” — Salah Sarsour, President, Islamic Society of Milwaukee

His lead attorney, Patrick Taurel, described the ruling as a setback for free speech rights and argued the evidence showed Sarsour is not deportable. The legal team plans to seek relief from removal, including under the Convention Against Torture, citing fears for Sarsour’s safety if returned to the West Bank.

Part of a Broader Pattern

The Department of Homeland Security welcomed the ruling, stating the judge sustained multiple grounds of removability. The case forms part of broader Trump administration efforts targeting certain non-citizens involved in pro-Palestinian advocacy, similar to cases involving Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi. Sarsour’s supporters, including the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, maintain he is being targeted for his Palestinian and Muslim identity and his speech rather than any genuine security threat.