Judge Rules Milwaukee Mosque Leader Can Be Deported
The Facts
- An immigration judge ruled Wednesday that the U.S. can deport Salah Sarsour, the Palestinian-born president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, Wisconsin's largest mosque, on foreign policy grounds, while rejecting the government's claim that he lied on his green card application.
- Chicago Judge Jayme Salinardi issued the decision Tuesday, ruling that Sarsour was a foreign policy threat. Sarsour was jailed in Israel in 1988 after confessing to throwing a Molotov cocktail at Israeli soldiers, a confession his lawyers say was coerced.
- Sarsour called the outcome "deeply disappointing" and said he would appeal. His lawyers claim the removal is retaliation for his pro-Palestine activism, and Sarsour says that a deportation to the West Bank "means the end of my life."
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The Spin
Democratic narrative
Tossing out a lawful resident of 33 years over his opinions on Palestine is punishment for speech, not law enforcement. The Constitution covers green card holders too, and labeling advocacy a foreign policy threat is a political maneuver dressed as immigration enforcement. Every immigrant watching this learns to stay quiet, which is exactly the point.
Republican narrative
Legal residency is a privilege granted on honest terms, and someone who hid foreign convictions to secure a green card forfeited that privilege long ago. A clean American rap sheet means nothing when the record abroad includes attacks on soldiers and attempts to obtain weapons. Protecting the public from people tied to terror funding isn't censorship.
