Immigration Judge Jayme Salinardi rules that the U.S. government can deport Salah Sarsour, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, on national security and foreign policy grounds. The ruling relies on a rare memo by Secretary of State Marco Rubio citing Sarsour's decades-old convictions in Israel. Sarsour, a U.S. resident for over 30 years with no domestic criminal record, maintains his innocence and asserts his Israeli confessions were coerced through torture. His legal team plans to appeal under the Convention Against Torture.
The Immigration Court's ruling
- ▪Judge Jayme Salinardi rejected the U.S. government's allegations that Salah Sarsour had lied on his green card application or falsely claimed U.S. citizenship to vote
- ▪Chicago Immigration Court Judge Jayme Salinardi ruled on September 29, 2026 that the U.S. government has the legal authority to deport Salah Sarsour, the president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, on national security and foreign policy grounds
Sarsour's planned appeal and deportation destination
- ▪Salah Sarsour's legal team plans to appeal Judge Jayme Salinardi's deportation ruling and has 60 days to argue that deporting him would violate the Convention Against Torture
- ▪Defense attorney Patrick Taurel stated that Salah Sarsour should be deported to Israel or the Palestinian territories rather than Jordan, which was listed as a possible destination on the removal order issued by Judge Jayme Salinardi
Terrorism allegations
- ▪A 2001 FBI memorandum summarized allegations from Salah Sarsour's brother, Jamil Sarsour, that Salah Sarsour was involved in fundraising for the Holy Land Foundation on behalf of Hamas
- ▪A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson stated that Salah Sarsour has engaged in terrorist activity or supported a terrorist organization
Sarsour's past convictions in Israel
- ▪Salah Sarsour was imprisoned in Israel in 1988 after confessing to throwing stones and a Molotov cocktail at Israeli military personnel, and was convicted again in 1995 for attempting to possess weapons and ammunition
- ▪Salah Sarsour denies the Israeli offenses tied to his 1988 and 1995 convictions, and his defense attorneys argue that his confessions were coerced through torture while in the custody of Shin Bet, Israel's internal security agency
- ▪Jawad Boulos, who represented Salah Sarsour during his convictions in Israel, testified in August 2026 that Sarsour was coerced into confessing and was not convicted of any charge linking him to a terrorist organization
Sarsour's treatment and release from ICE custody
- ▪U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon ordered Salah Sarsour's release from ICE custody in June 2026, finding a substantial case that the government retaliated against Sarsour for speaking out about Palestinian rights
- ▪Salah Sarsour, who has Type 2 diabetes, lost over 30 pounds while detained by ICE, and his attorneys alleged he suffered medical neglect with blood sugar levels checked only once a month
Debatable claims
- ▪The Trump administration's deportation of pro-Palestinian advocates constitutes unlawful retaliation against free speech
- ▪The US should not deport non-citizens based solely on executive foreign policy determinations
- ▪Decades-old foreign convictions are insufficient to establish that a long-term US resident is a security threat
- ▪Israeli military court convictions are too unreliable to justify US deportation decisions
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