Judge Rules Wisconsin Mosque Leader Can Be Deported as Threat to US Foreign Policy

An immigration judge in Chicago ruled on Wednesday that the United States can deport Salah Sarsour, an outspoken leader of Wisconsin’s largest mosque, on the grounds that he is a threat to U.S. foreign policy.

“The immigration judge in this case sustained multiple grounds of removability,” a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to The Epoch Times.

“The Secretary of State has reasonable grounds to believe Salsour’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 statement added.

In June 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a memorandum stating Sarsour was deportable, according to court documents.

Sarsour, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, has 30 days to appeal the ruling.

Sarsour is an advocate for Palestinian rights and lived in America for over three decades until he was arrested in Milwaukee on March 30, 2026, by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, kicking off removal proceedings.

DHS accused him of being a criminal illegal alien from Jordan who was suspected of funding terrorist organizations and lying on immigration forms.

“Salah Salem Sarsour is a terrorist convicted for throwing Molotov cocktails at the homes of Israeli armed forces,” acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement in April. “This illegal alien from Jordan lied on his green card application to gain legal status in the U.S.”

Chicago Immigration Court Judge Jayme Salinardi dismissed the claim that Sarsour lied to obtain his green card but allowed his removal on the grounds that he threatens U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.

“Salah Sarsour is being targeted for his support for Palestine—full stop,” Larson said in Facebook post Wednesday. “It is clear that the Trump administration has no interest in enforcing U.S. law, but is determined to terrorize critics.”

Sarsour was first denied a visa to the United States decades ago when he applied at the American Consulate in Jerusalem. He later entered the country as a conditional resident in 1993 during the Clinton administration and became a green card holder in 1998.

On June 18, 2026, U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon, who was nominated by President Donald Trump in 2018, ordered the immediate release of Sarsour, finding the immigrant raised a “substantial” claim that the administration was targeting him for speaking out in favor of Palestinian rights.

While the June order allowed his release from jail, it did not decide whether he could be deported, and his case continued in Chicago Immigration Court.

Patrick Taurel, one of Sarsour’s lawyers, requested on Wednesday that his client be removed only to Israel or the Palestinian territories, not Jordan, which is listed on the removal paperwork.

Taurel warned in a news conference that if Sarsour was sent to Jordan, he “would just be immediately handed off to Israel.”

The Epoch Times reached out to Sarsour’s legal team for comment.