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Federal officials have taken into custody the head of Wisconsin’s largest mosque, accusing him of hiding a previous conviction related to assaults on Israeli interests and of providing false information on his immigration paperwork.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) apprehended Salah Salem Sarsour, who holds a leadership position at the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, during a strategic operation conducted earlier this week, as noted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
According to a DHS statement released on Thursday, Sarsour, a citizen of Jordan, had been previously convicted in Israel for hurling a Molotov cocktail at residences of Israeli military personnel and for attempting to acquire weapons and ammunition.
This 2025 image, supplied by the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, depicts Salah Sarsour in Franklin, Wisconsin. (Photo courtesy of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee via AP)
The department contends that he failed to report this background on his immigration applications, leading to his improper acquisition of U.S. permanent residency.
“Salah Salem Sarsour is a terrorist convicted for throwing Molotov cocktails at the homes of Israeli armed forces. This illegal alien from Jordan lied on his green card application to gain legal status in the U.S.,” said DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis.
Fox News’ Brooke Taylor reported that, according to ICE, Sarsour eventually became a green card holder in 1998 under President Bill Clinton after lying on his application.
Fox News’ Brooke Taylor reported that supporters are rallying behind the Islamic Society of Milwaukee president, who was arrested by ICE, arguing he’s been a lawful permanent resident for 32 years. (Fox News)
In a statement to FOX 6 Milwaukee, ICE said it worked with the U.S. Marshals Service to arrest Sarsour.
The Islamic Society of Milwaukee has also created a fundraising page to support Sarsour.
“Br. Salah is being targeted on the basis of his Palestinian and Muslim background, and his advocacy for Palestinian rights,” the fundraiser says, in part. “We know this fight for Br. Salah is part of a larger trend of attacks on immigrants that whittle away at democratic norms and legal protections for everyone. That is why this fight is a fight for all of us.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in conjunction with the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), conducted a targeted operation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to arrest Salah Salem Sarsour, a criminal illegal alien from Jordan suspected of funding terror organizations and lying on immigration forms. (The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS))
Sarsour has been the board president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, the largest Islamic organization in the state, for five years.
At a crowded news conference, boisterous supporters chanted to free Sarsour.
“He was targeted because of one thing, because he dared stand up to the Israeli army,” Othman Atta, one of Sarsour’s attorneys, told the crowd. “And he was not a U.S. citizen.”
A diverse group of religious leaders in attendance called Sarsour a valuable community member.
“This appears to be just the latest example of how this administration seeks to silence opposition and intimidate those who speak and act differently,” said the Rev. Paul D. Erickson, bishop of the Greater Milwaukee Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson called Sarsour’s detainment “an outrage.”
“He is a legal permanent resident. There is no substantive evidence he has done anything wrong,” Johnson said Thursday in a post on X. “This is another example of overreach and harm from the U.S. immigration authorities.”
Sarsour is being held at a county jail in Indiana. His attorneys have filed a petition seeking his release.
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