33 Years in the U.S. With a Green Card — Wisconsin Mosque Leader Now Faces Deportation
An immigration judge in Chicago ruled Sept. 30 that the federal government can deport Salah Sarsour, the president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s largest mosque. Sarsour was born in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has lived in the United States since 1993, and holds a green card. Judge Jayme Salinardi found him removable under a rarely used provision that lets the secretary of state declare a noncitizen deportable when that person’s presence could have serious adverse consequences for U.S. foreign policy.
The judge also threw out two other government claims: that Sarsour lied on his green card application and that he falsely claimed citizenship to vote.
The case rests on a June 2025 determination by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and on convictions in Israeli courts decades ago. Those include a late-1980s case over throwing stones at Israeli soldiers and a 1995 case for attempting to obtain weapons. Government lawyers also said he was convicted of throwing a Molotov cocktail. His lawyer says he was accused of that but never convicted. Sarsour denies the underlying acts and says Israeli authorities tortured him into confessing. He has no criminal record in the United States.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said 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.” The government has also pointed to a 2001 FBI memo summarizing claims by Sarsour’s brother that he raised money for the Holy Land Foundation, a charity the federal government shut down that year over ties to Hamas.
Sarsour’s lawyers say the government is punishing him for his advocacy on the Israel-Gaza conflict. They ask why, if he were a real threat, officials waited more than 30 years to act. ICE agents arrested him in Milwaukee in March, and he spent about 80 days in an Indiana county jail. In June, U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon ordered him released, finding he had raised a “substantial” claim that he was targeted for his speech. Sarsour, who has Type 2 diabetes, lost more than 30 pounds in detention.
He has six children and nine grandchildren, all U.S. citizens. “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,” he said after the ruling.
Sarsour is not being deported right away. He has 30 days to file a notice of appeal and 60 days to apply for relief from removal, and the government cannot remove him until his appeals run out. Salinardi is retiring, so Immigration Judge Craig Defoe will handle the case from here. The removal order lists Jordan as a possible destination.
His attorney, Patrick Taurel, says Sarsour has no ties there and would likely be handed over to Israel. The same foreign policy provision has been used against a few other green card holders since 2025, and the appeals in those cases are expected to shape how far the government can take it.
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