Council Demands Release Of Salah Sarsour From ICE Detention

Supporters of Salah Sarsour in the Common Council gallery April 21. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The Milwaukee Common Council on Tuesday condemned the federal government’s arrest of Salah Sarsour, the board president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, and called for his release in a unanimously adopted motion.

Sarsour, 53, was detained by ICE agents after he left his home in Franklin on March 30. He grew up in the Israeli-occupied West Bank but has been a legal resident of the Milwaukee community for more than 32 years.

In addition to his role at the Islamic Society, Sarsour operates a series of furniture stores in Milwaukee. He is also a board member of American Muslims for Palestine, a national advocacy organization.

The council measure’s effect is largely symbolic, but it adds support to the case as Sarsour’s attorneys continue to press the issue in court.

An updated habeas corpus petition, filed April 13, calls for his release on the basis that his detention in an Indiana jail is illegal. A separate deportation case is ongoing in immigration court.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security previously said in a statement that Sarsour was arrested because he was “suspected of funding terror organizations and lying on immigration forms.” It has not produced evidence of the funding claim.

Sarsour’s attorneys allege in the petition that the federal government was long aware of Sarsour’s teenage arrest in the West Bank and an alleged coerced statement since “at least 2000.” The filing says two “false” arrests were evaluated in 2000, 2008, 2010 and 2019 as part of the determination of his eligibility for naturalization.

The filing says Sarsour has not left the country since 1998 and is a legal permanent resident of the United States.

“We need to take a stand right now,” said Ald. Alex Brower. Watching was a full gallery, which included Sarsour’s family and a heckler who repeatedly interrupted him. Brower said Sarsour was being targeted for his advocacy for the “liberation of Palestine,” which he said he, too, supports. “We need to be using every single tool we have.”

Brower said Sarsour’s teenage arrest, in which he is alleged to have thrown Molotov cocktails at the homes of Israeli armed forces personnel, occurred when he was living in the West Bank.

At the age of 22, Sarsour was again arrested at Ben Gurion Airport while visiting the West Bank with his family. “During the second detention, he was subjected to nearly 90 days of solitary confinement and excruciating torture. He was beaten every day, often until he fell unconscious. He was allowed only three hours of sleep every 72 hours. He was also deprived of food for long periods of time. He lost over 40 [pounds]. In an effort to survive, Mr. Sarsour signed documents written in Hebrew that he did not understand. He was then released,” says the petition. “Mr. Sarsour has not and did not engage in any of the conduct alleged.”

Brower said it is “unconscionable” that the federal government would use the arrests against him.

Ald. Mark Chambers, Jr. praised Sarsour. He said that in 2008, when his son was newly born and well before he was elected, Sarsour provided his family with a significant discount on furniture. Chambers said his son is now poised to attend Howard University on a full scholarship. “He saw me with my newborn, with my child’s mother, and trying to furnish a full house.” Chambers said he now considers Sarsour a friend. “I know he’s helped hundreds and thousands of families alike.”

Ald. JoCasta Zamarripa said that if she were asked to sum up Sarsour’s arrest in one word, it would be “outrageous.” She said he was owed due process rights.

Zamarripa expressed concern about “misinformation and ignorance about immigrants” that she sees displayed on social media platforms.

Ald. Sharlen P. Moore, herself an immigrant, thanked Brower for his courage in moving the measure forward. She said it was important the council show that “we give a damn.”

The council measure was sponsored by Brower, Moore, Zamarripa, Larresa Taylor and José G. Pérez.

Salah Sarsour, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee. Submitted photo from the Islamic Society of Milwaukee

About the petition

Central to the petition is the role of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who in June 2025 issued a memorandum declaring Sarsour deportable under a rarely used foreign policy provision of federal immigration law. Attorneys say that determination was tied to Sarsour’s speech and his association with American Muslims for Palestine, rather than any criminal conduct.

The filing also points to earlier actions by Rubio targeting other pro-Palestinian activists, including memoranda labeling student leaders deportable based on their speech and associations. Those actions, the petition argues, were part of a wider policy effort across federal agencies to use immigration enforcement to address political advocacy.

More broadly, the petition describes what it calls a “coordinated, multi-agency campaign” aimed at Palestinians and those who support Palestinian human rights, with the stated purpose “to silence and chill speech supportive of the rights of Palestinians.” The filing cites public statements from federal officials and internal policy steps leading up to Sarsour’s detention.

Attorneys contend the government’s actions violate Sarsour’s First Amendment rights to free speech and association, as well as Fifth Amendment protections for due process and equal protection. They argue “the sole basis for Mr. Sarsour’s detention is to punish him for his speech and to chill similar speech,” with broader implications for advocacy nationwide.

The petition emphasizes that Sarsour has lived in the United States for more than three decades without a criminal record and argues that he poses no flight risk or danger to the community. It asks a federal court to order his release while the case proceeds, asserting that “there is no legitimate purpose served by detaining” him.