The president of Wisconsin’s largest mosque was detained by federal immigration agents, drawing accusations Thursday from local officials and religious leaders that the arrest was motivated by his criticism of Israel.
Salah Sarsour, a Palestinian-born legal permanent resident of the United States, was taken into custody by nearly a dozen U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who surrounded his car on Monday in Milwaukee after he left his home, according to the Islamic Society of Milwaukee.
Supporters called Thursday for his immediate release. His attorneys stated he was detained on the grounds that he is a foreign policy threat, a claim they argue has no merit.
Instead, they believe Sarsour, 53, was targeted for speaking out against Israel and for a conviction as a minor by Israeli military courts, which faced scrutiny over allegations of limited due process and high conviction rates of Palestinians. Israel rejects those claims. The offenses included allegedly throwing rocks at Israeli officers, according to attorney Munjed Ahmad.
“Our government should not be doing the bidding of a foreign government,” Ahmad said of Israel. “There’s no question in my mind that this is to stifle the discourse on the Palestinian narrative.”
Attorneys said Sarsour, born in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has no criminal record in the U.S., where he has lived for over 30 years. They noted that the U.S. government has known about his conviction in Israel since he arrived in the U.S. in 1993.
Sarsour’s case has been likened to that of Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student activist facing deportation on similar charges of being a foreign policy threat.
Sarsour has been the board president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee for five years, holds a green card, and lives just outside the city. His immediate family members are U.S. citizens.
At a crowded news conference, supporters chanted for Sarsour's release and recounted his advocacy work. Several shared stories about his childhood experiences, including allegations of inhumane treatment during detentions by Israeli authorities.
“He was targeted because of one thing: he dared to stand up to the Israeli army,” said Othman Atta, one of Sarsour’s attorneys. “And he is not a U.S. citizen.”
A diverse coalition of religious leaders present at the conference condemned the arrest. “This situation exemplifies how this administration seeks to silence opposition and intimidate those who speak and act differently,” remarked Rev. Paul D. Erickson, bishop of the Greater Milwaukee Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Sarsour's detention also drew criticism from elected officials, including Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, who described it as “an outrage.” Johnson emphasized, “He is a legal permanent resident. There is no substantive evidence he has done anything wrong. This is another instance of overreach and harm from U.S. immigration authorities.”
Currently, Sarsour is being held at a county jail in Indiana. His attorneys have filed a petition for his release. “He is ready to fight tooth and nail to make sure that he’s not dragged through the mud,” said Ahmad. “He wants to stay in this country.”
