US judge rules Wisconsin mosque leader Salah Sarsour can be deported

October 1, 2026 at 01:00 AM2 min

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A US immigration judge ruled Wednesday that Salah Sarsour, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, can be deported under a law used against non-citizens advocating for Palestinian rights. Sarsour, a Palestinian-born US resident of over three decades, called the ruling 'deeply disappointing' and vowed to fight. His lawyers have 60 days to argue he would face torture if removed, and plan to appeal.

Key Facts

Judge Jayme Salinardi ruled Wednesday that Salah Sarsour can be removed from the US based in part on a memo by Secretary of State Marco Rubio stating his actions undermine US foreign policy to combat antisemitism.
Sarsour, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, has lived in the US for more than three decades and was detained by ICE in Milwaukee in March.
His lawyers have 60 days to argue that deportation would put him at risk of torture under the Convention Against Torture, and they plan to appeal if they lose.
The June 2025 Rubio memo invoked a rarely used law allowing deportation of non-citizens whose presence could have 'potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences'.
The same provision has been used against pro-Palestinian activists Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi.

The Ruling

Judge Jayme Salinardi ruled Wednesday that Salah Sarsour, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, can be removed from the US. The decision was based in part on a memo by Secretary of State Marco Rubio stating that Sarsour's actions undermine US foreign policy to combat antisemitism worldwide. Sarsour's lawyers criticized the 'extreme deference' Salinardi gave to Rubio's memo, but the judge believed his hands were tied by an earlier ruling in Mahmoud Khalil's case. That earlier ruling found that a letter from the Secretary of State could be enough to make someone deportable on foreign policy grounds, preventing Salinardi from examining the evidence behind Rubio's decision.

Reaction and Next Steps

Sarsour called the ruling 'deeply disappointing' and said he will continue fighting to defend free speech and stay in the country he has called home for more than three decades. His lawyer, Patrick Taurel, rejected the decision, saying the evidence presented compels only one conclusion: that Salah is not deportable. The ruling does not mean immediate deportation; Sarsour's lawyers have 60 days to argue that sending him back would put him at risk of torture under the Convention Against Torture. If they lose, they plan to appeal, and Taurel said Sarsour cannot be deported while the appeal is pending, so he will remain in the US for the 'foreseeable future'.

Legal Context

Sarsour was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Milwaukee in March, nine months after Rubio issued a memo declaring him deportable on foreign policy grounds. The June 2025 memo invoked a rarely used US law that allows the Secretary of State to seek deportation of non-citizens whose presence could have 'potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences'. The administration has used the same provision against pro-Palestinian activists Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi.