An immigration judge ruled Wednesday that the federal government can deport Salah Sarsour, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s largest mosque, on national security grounds.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio invoked federal immigration law in June 2025 to determine that Sarsour’s presence in the United States could have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences. Government lawyers pointed to decades-old convictions in Israel, including for throwing rocks at Israeli military personnel and attempting to procure weapons, to argue he posed a national security threat.
Government lawyers also claimed Sarsour had been convicted of throwing a Molotov cocktail at IDF personnel. Sarsour’s lawyer disputed that characterization, saying he was accused of the act but never convicted of it.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Rubio had “reasonable grounds to believe Sarsour’s presence would have adverse foreign policy consequences for the U.S., and he has engaged in terrorist activity or supported a terrorist organization.”
A 2001 FBI memorandum summarized allegations from Sarsour’s brother, Jamil, that Sarsour had been involved in fundraising for the Holy Land Foundation, an organization shut down by the federal government over ties to Hamas, on the group’s behalf. Jewish Insider has also reported that Sarsour wrote a Facebook post asking God to “give Gaza people victory,” while acknowledging in a deposition that other language in the post could be translated as asking God to punish those who wished harm on Gaza.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, if you break the law, you will face the consequences. Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.,” the DHS spokesperson said, adding that “illegal aliens receive due process.”
Sarsour, who is a lawful permanent resident according to court documents, and his attorneys say he is being targeted by the Trump administration for political reasons connected to his advocacy on the Israel-Gaza conflict. He also says he was tortured into providing a confession by Israeli authorities.
His lawyers have noted that Sarsour has lived in the United States for 30 years, questioning why the government waited so long to seek his removal if he represented a genuine threat to national security.
Sarsour has said he will appeal the judge’s ruling.
“I will continue fighting to defend the right to free speech and to stay in the country I have called home for more than three decades,” Sarsour said in a statement following the ruling.
Sarsour’s lawyers did not respond to requests for comment when reached Thursday.
