Federal immigration judge rules Milwaukee Islamic leader Salah Sarsour can be deported, his legal team vows to fight

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – The president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, Salah Sarsour, can be deported, according to a federal immigration judge’s ruling Wednesday, September 30.

Sarsour and his attorneys have been fighting terrorism allegations for months.

His legal team is appealing the judge’s ruling, but his supporters are unsure of what's next.

The judge cited Sarsour’s decades-old legal cases in Israel.

Sarsour did not speak publicly after the decision, but said in a statement, "While today’s decision is deeply disappointing, I will not give up."

And his attorneys vowed to fight on. Patrick Taurel, an attorney on Sarsour's legal team, said during a briefing, "Salah is not deportable. He's done nothing wrong. He should be given back his green card, frankly, with an apology for what's being done to him."

The Department of Homeland Security says Sarsour was convicted as a young man of throwing Molotov cocktails at the homes of Israeli soldiers.

But Sarsour’s team has long said he was not convicted, plus that confession was forced when he was tortured by Israeli security forces.

Taurel cited a previous attorney: "Salah told him he had been hospitalized by the Shin Bet. The Shin Bet itself took him to a hospital."

Sarsour said in his statement, "all evidence was thrown aside, and instead, a foreign country’s false information and unjust military courts were used to trample on my rights and ignore the truth."

On Wednesday night, Sarsour spoke with about one hundred community members. They wanted an intimate discussion and so they closed it off to the media.

Sarsour has lived in the US since 1993 and does not have a criminal record here.

His team says he is being targeted for his pro-Palestinian views.

Another attorney, Luna Droubi, said, "He was being retaliated against, and detained, because of his protected speech."

But a spokesperson for DHS called Sarsour a public safety threat in a statement: "Sarsour is a terrorist who was convicted of throwing Molotov cocktails at the homes of Israeli armed forces."

The statement continued to say the judge found "the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds to believe Sarsour’s presence would have adverse foreign policy consequences for the U.S., and he has engaged in terrorist activity or supported a terrorist organization."

The US government listed Israel and Jordan as possible locations if Sarsour is deported. His attorneys say his life is at risk if he's turned over to Israel.

They say he was not allowed to list Palestine as his home country.

The reaction to Wednesday's decision stood in stark contrast to the hero's welcome Sarsour received just three months prior, after he was released from federal detention after 80 days in custody.

On June 19, after returning to Milwaukee, he told supporters, "This means the world to me. I have a new life."

But now his attorneys fear his life would be in jeopardy if he's deported.

While the judge ruled Sarsour can be deported, they also ruled against charges he lied to immigration authorities about being a US citizen.

Sarsour has 60 days to ask a judge to prevent his removal. He will not be held in custody as the case continues. And he cannot be deported until his attorneys have exhausted all legal options.