Muslim Leader’s Health Deteriorating in Immigration Lockup

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

Attorneys for Salah Sarsour, a Milwaukee resident arrested by federal immigration agents in March, say his health is deteriorating in detention, as he is being denied adequate health care and nutrition.

Sarsour is a Palestinian immigrant who came to the U.S. more than 30 years ago. He is the president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, a local businessman and a vocal critic of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian people.

He was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on March 30. He was then brought to Indiana and detained in the Clay County Jail. Since his detention, Sarsour has lost about 30 pounds and is not receiving adequate medical treatment for his diabetes, his attorneys say.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claims Sarsour was arrested for allegedly “funding terror organizations and lying on immigration forms.” His family and supporters say the federal government is not telling the truth and that he is being persecuted for his support for Palestine.

Sarsour was born in the West Bank under Israeli military occupation, according to his family. As a teenager, he was arrested and convicted in an Israeli military court. His family says the charges were fraudulent. He later came to the U.S., claiming he was tortured by Israeli security forces. DHS has said this arrest in the U.S. stems from this decades-old conviction in Israel. His family and friends have said the U.S. government already knew about the Israeli conviction.

His attorneys are currently fighting two legal battles on his behalf. One is in immigration court, where they are attempting to stop his deportation. The case was recently moved to the deputy chief immigration judge sitting in Kansas City, Judge Jayme Salinardi, ACLU of Illinois attorney Sam Cole told Urban Milwaukee.

In federal court, they are challenging his ongoing detention and asking U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon to release him pending an official grant of a writ of habeas corpus. His attorneys are arguing that Sarsour’s detention is illegal, and if the court agrees, a writ will be issued. Hanlon was appointed to the bench by President Donald Trump in 2018.

During a status conference Monday, Hanlon ordered jail officials to present medical staff with a letter from Sarsour’s doctor explaining the need for daily monitoring of his blood sugar, Cole said.

“His doctor had ordered daily glucose monitoring and he’s just not getting that,” Cole said. “The jail is offering monthly monitoring of his blood glucose, and that creates a substantial [health] risk for him.”

Sarsour was already on a restrictive diet for Type 2 diabetes, Cole said. One of the food options he was offered in jail as a supplement was pork rinds, which he cannot eat because of his religious observances, Cole said.

Sarsour’s treatment in detention is overly punitive and furthers his case for release from ongoing detention, according to his attorneys.

“We’re not only fighting now for my dad’s legal right to be here, but also for his health—and basic due process guaranteed by his constitutional rights to speak up about injustice,” Sarsour’s son, Kareem Sarsour, said in a statement.