For six months, Salah Sarsour, a legal U.S. resident and president of Wisconsin’s largest Islamic organization, has been fighting the Trump administration’s efforts to deport him. On Tuesday night, a federal immigration judge in Chicago ruled in favor of his removal, meaning he could be ordered to leave the country unless he secures asylum or other legal relief.
Mr. Sarsour, 53, who grew up in the West Bank and leads the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, has lived in the U.S. for over 30 years. He was detained by ICE in March and held for about 80 days before a judge ordered his release in June. His lawyers plan to appeal the ruling.
The government’s case cites charges brought by Israel during a Palestinian uprising when he was a teenager, resulting in his imprisonment. Mr. Sarsour and his lawyers argue his detention was politically motivated, accusing the Trump administration of targeting pro-Palestinian speech and violating his First Amendment rights.
The Department of Homeland Security applauded the ruling, calling Mr. Sarsour a “public safety threat.” The Trump administration used a 1952 Cold-War era statute, asserting that the secretary of state can deport noncitizens if their presence would have “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.”
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing