Federal immigration authorities arrested the head of Wisconsin’s largest mosque, prompting accusations Thursday from local officials and religious leaders that the arrest was motivated by his criticism of Israel.
Salah Sarsour, a Palestinian-born and legal permanent resident of the United States, was detained by nearly a dozen U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who surrounded his car Monday in Milwaukee after he left his home, according to the Islamic Society of Milwaukee.
On Thursday, his supporters demanded his immediate release. His lawyers said he was arrested on the grounds that he represented a foreign policy threat, a claim they say is unfounded.
Instead, they believe Sarsour, 53, was targeted for speaking out against Israel and being convicted as a minor by Israeli military courts, which I faced scrutiny more Allegations of limited due process High rates of conviction among Palestinians. Israel rejects these allegations. The crimes included throwing stones at Israeli officers, according to lawyer Munjid Ahmed.
“Our government should not carry out the orders of a foreign government,” Ahmed said of Israel. “There is no doubt in my mind that this is intended to stifle discourse about the Palestinian narrative.”
The lawyers said Sarsour, who was born in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has no criminal record in the United States, where he has lived for more than 30 years. They said that the US government has been aware of Sarsour’s conviction in Israel since he came to the United States in 1993.
An email left Thursday for ICE was not immediately returned to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Sarsour’s lawyers likened the case to a lawsuit Mahmoud Khalila former student activist at Columbia University who faces deportation because the federal government said he posed a foreign policy threat.
Sarsour chaired the board of directors of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, the largest Islamic organization in the state, for five years. His lawyers say he has a green card and lives outside of Milwaukee. His wife and four children are US citizens.
At a crowded news conference, his supporters chanted for Sarsour’s release and recounted his defense of those in need. Many recalled Sarsour’s stories from his childhood, including allegations of inhumane treatment while in Israeli detention.
“He was targeted because of one thing, which is that he dared to stand up to the Israeli army,” Othman Atta, one of Sarsour’s lawyers, told the crowd. “And he was not an American citizen.”
The variety of religious leaders in attendance described Sarsour as an important member of the community.
Pastor Paul D. said: “This appears to be just the latest example of how this administration seeks to silence dissent and intimidate those who speak and act differently,” said Erickson, bishop of the Greater Milwaukee Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Sarsour’s arrest also angered elected officials, including Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, who called it a “disgrace.”
“He is a lawful permanent resident. There is no objective evidence that he did anything wrong. This is another example of overreach and harm on the part of US immigration authorities,” Johnson said Thursday in a post on X.
Sarsour is being held in an Indiana County jail. His lawyers have submitted a request for his release.
“He is ready to fight with all his might to make sure he does not take drugs through the mud,” Ahmed said. “He wants to stay in this country.”