Judge orders Milwaukee Islamic Society president be released from ICE custody
By Amy Fleury
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Wisconsin (WISN) — A federal judge in Indiana has ordered the release of Salah Sarsour, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
“Petitioner Salah Salem Sarsour is a lawful permanent resident who has lived in the United States for 33 years,” United States District Judge James Patrick Hanlon wrote. Hanlon was nominated by President Donald Trump in April 2018.
Sarsour has been detained since the end of March.
Sarsour was being held in Clay County Jail in Indiana. His family is on the way Thursday morning to bring him home, WISN 12 News has learned.
“We’re getting our dad back,” Salah’s son, Kareem Sarsour, said in a statement. “This experience has been a nightmare to wake up to every day, with his health at risk in a cruel basement cell simply for speaking up for Palestine. But we know who my dad is, he’s a voice for the voiceless and the heart of our family and our community. I can’t wait to hug him, and I hope everyone like him will be released.”
His legal team claimed in April that Sarsour was detained “because the government appears to be using the immigration system to target individuals for protected speech related to Palestine and Palestinians.”
In response to the judge’s order his legal team released this statement:
“We are ecstatic for Salah Sarsour and his family that they will soon be reunited.
“In issuing this order, the federal judge made clear that the government cannot detain a lawful permanent resident for speaking out about Palestinian human rights. Salah Sarsour, who has lived in this country for more than three decades and served as a core pillar in his community without any issues, should never have been detained in the first place.
“While we continue to fight these baseless claims in court, today is about celebrating a family being reunited. It is also a sober reminder that, if the government can target Mr. Sarsour, everyone’s free speech rights are at risk.”
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