On Wednesday, an immigration judge decided that national security grounds allow the U.S. to deport the leader of Wisconsin’s largest mosque. This is a major shift in how the government handles long-term residents with past convictions abroad.
Chicago-based Judge Jayme Salinardi determined that Salah Sarsour, 53, can be removed from the country. The judge cited his past convictions in Israel and his pro-Palestinian advocacy as the reason. Washington Examiner reported that the ruling invokes an immigration provision used by Secretary of State Marco Rubio last year.
The decision comes after years of legal back and forth. For over three decades, Sarsour has resided within the United States. According to Washington Examiner, this individual possesses no criminal history in the U.S. during the last 33 years. Yet the Trump administration deemed him a national security threat.
The core of the case rests on events from decades ago. Sarsour was born in the West Bank. He was once imprisoned in Israel in 1988. Admitting guilt, he confessed to hurling stones and a Molotov cocktail at Israeli military personnel. Seven years after that incident, Washington Examiner observed he was convicted of trying to possess weapons.
Sarsour maintains his innocence. His legal team contends that torture forced him to admit to both offenses. The Trump administration also alleges he helped fundraise for Hamas in the 1990s. Daily Wire stated that the Department of Homeland Security alleges he obtained his green card under President Bill Clinton through application deception.
Here is the twist in the story. Judge Salinardi discarded the federal government’s allegation that Sarsour lied on his green card application. The judge still ruled he must leave based on the security grounds. This leaves the fraud claim out of the final order.
Sarsour called the ruling “deeply disappointing.” He said he intends to appeal the decision immediately. He faces a difficult path ahead. To succeed on appeal, Sarsour must prove that returning to the West Bank would result in his torture. One of his lawyers told Washington Examiner that proving this fear is the only way to stop the removal.
There is a complication with where he can go. Defense attorney Patrick Taurel asserted his client ought to be sent to Israel or the Palestinian territories instead of Jordan. Sarsour has no connection to Jordan. Immigration officers directed him to name that location as his home country since the U.S. fails to recognize Palestine as an independent state. Daily Wire noted the judge left that specific issue for the appeal.
Salinardi is retiring from the bench. The appeal case will be presided over starting by Judge Craig Defoe. Associated Press disclosed that ICE detained Sarsour in March, though a federal judge mandated his release in June. Now the clock is ticking again.
“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,” Sarsour said in a statement.
The government says he is a threat. The man says he is a victim of past torture. The judge says he must leave the U.S.
