Overview
- ICE detained Hamdi at San Francisco International Airport after the State Department revoked his visitor visa on Oct. 24, days after he entered the country for a speaking tour.
- CAIR attorneys have filed a habeas corpus petition and requested a temporary restraining order for a bond hearing and to block his removal, with a court date set in November.
- Hamdi is held at an immigration detention facility in McFarland, California, and his wife says family contact has been limited to a brief 30‑second call.
- DHS defends the revocation by citing videos it says show Hamdi celebrating the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, while Hamdi and supporters dispute that interpretation and say clips shared by MEMRI lack context.
- Civil-rights groups link the case to a wider campaign to strip visas over pro-Palestinian speech, noting a recent federal ruling by Judge William G. Young that faulted such practices, and activists like Laura Loomer have publicly claimed credit for pressing officials as the UK response remains muted.