Salah Sarsour Faces Removal After Judge Upholds Foreign Policy Case

A Chicago immigration judge upheld foreign policy grounds for removing the Milwaukee mosque president, while rejecting the green card deception claim. His lawyers plan to fight the ruling.

In a decision announced on September 30, 2026, Chicago Immigration Court Judge Jayme Salinardi found Salah Sarsour, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, removable from the United States on foreign policy grounds. His lawyers say they will appeal and seek protection against removal.

The judge rejected the government’s allegation that Sarsour lied on his green card application. Urban Milwaukee reported, citing his attorney, that the order designated Israel or Jordan as destinations. Further proceedings on protection from removal remain ahead; the decision is not a criminal conviction or an announcement of immediate deportation.

Why the government sought removal

The Department of Homeland Security pursued the case using a determination by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. A June 18, 2026, federal court order reproduces Rubio’s June 18, 2025, memorandum, which said Sarsour’s activities undermined US efforts against antisemitism and support for foreign terrorist organisations.

Rubio cited Sarsour’s leadership in an organisation he alleged had been involved in providing funds to Hamas, a US designated terrorist organisation. These are the government’s allegations. Sarsour denies wrongdoing and says the case targets his advocacy for Palestinian rights.

The provision, section 237(a)(4)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, allows removal when the secretary of state has reasonable grounds to believe a noncitizen’s presence or activities could seriously harm US foreign policy. It also incorporates exceptions concerning lawful beliefs, statements and associations.

The disputed Israeli record

DHS has also invoked Sarsour’s past Israeli convictions. In its response to the ruling, reported by the Wisconsin Examiner, the department alleged that he had been convicted of throwing Molotov cocktails at Israeli military personnel’s homes and welcomed the finding of deportability.

His lawyers dispute that description, saying the earlier conviction concerned stones, not explosives. They also dispute the underlying conduct in a later weapons case and say his confessions were extracted through torture. The immigration dispute does not resolve those competing accounts by itself.

A resident for more than three decades

Sarsour is a Palestinian community leader and green card holder who has lived in the United States since 1993, according to his federal court filings. He also serves on the board of American Muslims for Palestine. The filings say he has no US criminal record.

ICE arrested him on March 30, 2026. Federal Judge James Patrick Hanlon ordered his release on June 18 after finding a substantial claim that his detention retaliated against protected speech. He has been out of custody while the immigration case proceeds.

Sarsour said he would continue defending his right to speak and remain in the country. On October 1, the Council on American-Islamic Relations urged members of Congress to support him, arguing that deportation over his speech would violate the Constitution.

Protection request and appeal ahead

Lawyer Patrick Taurel told Wisconsin Public Radio that the judge allowed 60 days to seek relief and that the team would probably request protection under the Convention Against Torture. That would require showing a likelihood of torture in the proposed destination.

The Associated Press reported a 30 day notice of appeal period. Immigration appeals generally go to the Board of Immigration Appeals; Taurel said eventual review by the Seventh Circuit was also possible. No confirmed next hearing date was identified in the reporting reviewed for this article.