Judge rules US can deport Wisconsin mosque leader Salah Sarsour

An immigration judge has ruled that the United States can deport Salah Sarsour, the president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, Wisconsin's largest mosque, according to multiple outlets including the Associated Press, CBS News, the Washington Examiner and the Washington Times. The ruling was issued on Wednesday, according to the Washington Times and Washington Examiner.

Sarsour has lived in the United States as a permanent resident for nearly three decades, according to the Guardian and Daily Wire. He was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in March, according to the Guardian, and was later released after a federal judge found he had probably been detained in retaliation for his advocacy for Palestinian rights, which the federal judge said would make his detention unlawful, the Guardian reported.

According to the Washington Examiner, the judge in the deportation case, identified as Jayme Salinardi, determined that Sarsour, 53, can be removed from the United States on national security grounds based on his pro-Palestinian advocacy and past convictions in Israel. The Daily Wire reported that Sarsour was convicted in Israel as a teenager after he hurled Molotov cocktails, and described him as

accused of aiding Hamas

in its headline. The Times of India reported that the judge called Sarsour a "foreign policy threat."

The Guardian reported that the Trump administration had sought to use a Cold War-era law to deport foreign nationals who have been outspoken about Palestinian rights, and that this case followed an earlier track in the administration's effort against Sarsour that had failed. The Washington Times and Washington Examiner both framed the ruling as being on national security grounds, while other outlets, including CBS News and the AP, described the basis as foreign policy grounds.

Sarsour's lawyers say the decision threatens free speech protections and plan to fight the ruling, according to Al Jazeera English.

How the coverage differed

Left-leaning outlets, including the Guardian, Al Jazeera English and HuffPost, emphasized Sarsour's history as a Palestinian rights advocate and framed the case within the context of the Trump administration's broader use of immigration law against pro-Palestinian activists. The Guardian specifically detailed the use of a Cold War-era law and reported that a federal judge had previously found Sarsour's ICE detention was likely retaliatory, a detail not found in the right-leaning coverage supplied.

Right-leaning outlets, including the Washington Times, Washington Examiner, Just the News and the Daily Wire, led with the national security framing and emphasized Sarsour's past convictions in Israel. The Daily Wire's headline went furthest, stating Sarsour was accused of aiding Hamas and detailing the Molotov cocktail conviction, details not mentioned by left-leaning or center outlets in the supplied material.

Outlets disagree on the precise legal basis cited for the ruling: CBS News and the Associated Press described it as deportation on foreign policy grounds, while the Washington Times, Washington Examiner, Just the News and the Daily Wire described it as national security grounds. The Times of India, the lone center outlet supplied, used the phrase "foreign policy threat," attributed to the judge.

Left-leaning outlets gave more attention to Sarsour's advocacy history and the legal pushback from his lawyers, while right-leaning outlets gave more attention to his past criminal conviction in Israel and alleged ties to Hamas.

What is still unclear

The exact wording of the judge's ruling and findings is not fully detailed across the supplied sources, including what specific evidence supports the claim that Sarsour aided Hamas, a claim reported only by the Daily Wire. It also remains unclear what the next steps are in Sarsour's case and what timeline his lawyers' planned appeal might follow.