Judge rules US can deport Wisconsin Islamic leader Salah Sarsour on foreign policy grounds

Immigration judge approves removal

Immigration Judge Jayme Salinardi ruled that the United States government can deport Salah Sarsour, the 53-year-old president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, under a 1952 Cold War-era statute. Salinardi determined that Sarsour qualifies as a foreign policy threat following a memo issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. At the same time, the judge dismissed government allegations that Sarsour had lied on his green card application. Salinardi, who was assigned from out of state to hear the case in Chicago, announced plans to retire shortly after issuing the decision. Sarsour's legal team intends to challenge the removal, beginning a 60-day window to seek relief under the Convention Against Torture.

Legal authority and government arguments

The Department of Homeland Security pursued Sarsour's deportation by invoking a statutory provision permitting the expulsion of noncitizens whose presence causes adverse foreign policy outcomes. In a June 2025 memo, Secretary Rubio argued that Sarsour's actions undermined American foreign policy efforts to combat antisemitism globally. The administration applied the same legal framework to pro-Palestinian advocates Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi. Federal authorities also cited decades-old Israeli military court convictions, alleging Sarsour threw a Molotov cocktail in 1988 and attempted to possess weapons in 1995. Sarsour, who has lived in the United States since 1993 without a domestic criminal record, maintains that Israeli authorities coerced his confessions through torture while he was a teenager.

The case we presented compels only one conclusion, which is that Salah is not deportable, he has done nothing wrong.

Detention timeline and legal response

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested Sarsour in Milwaukee in March 2026, holding him in an Indiana facility for approximately 80 days. A federal judge ordered his release in June 2026, ruling that his detention likely constituted unlawful retaliation for protected speech supporting Palestinian rights. The government subsequently accelerated proceedings in immigration court, leading to Salinardi's removal ruling on Tuesday night. Sarsour stated that the federal effort directly targeted his outspoken criticism of American aid to Israel during the Israel-Hamas war.

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.

Next legal steps and appeal process

Defense attorney Patrick Taurel confirmed that Sarsour will remain in the United States while appeals proceed before immigration appellate bodies and federal courts. To prevent deportation to the West Bank under the Convention Against Torture, defense lawyers must establish a likelihood that Israeli forces would subject Sarsour to physical abuse. Taurel noted that Israeli military courts maintain a Palestinian conviction rate exceeding 96%, arguing that past interrogations illustrate the risks facing his client. Sarsour warned that deportation to the West Bank would effectively end his life, while his defense team prepares arguments challenging the administration's interpretation of foreign policy statutes.