Immigration judge rules U.S. can deport leader of Wisconsin’s largest mosque

The U.S. can deport the leader of Wisconsin’s largest mosque — an outspoken advocate of Palestinian rights — on the grounds that he is a threat to national security, an immigration judge ruled Wednesday.

Arrest and charges

Salah Sarsour was detained in Milwaukee in March by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

A federal judge ordered Sarsour’s release in June, saying he raised a “substantial” claim that the Trump administration was targeting him for speaking out against Israel and advocating for Palestinian rights.

Sarsour called the ruling “deeply disappointing,” but said he intends to appeal.

“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.

Government attorneys say Sarsour’s decades-old convictions in Israel make him a threat to national security and accuse him of lying on his green card application and falsely claiming citizenship to vote.

“All illegal aliens receive due process,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

Charges and court proceedings

Judge Jayme Salinardi, with the Chicago Immigration Court, found him removable on foreign policy grounds but tossed out the government’s claim that Sarsour lied to immigration authorities.