Overview
- ICE says Hamdi was arrested at San Francisco International Airport and remains in custody pending removal after the Bureau of Consular Affairs revoked his visa effective Oct. 24.
- Hamdi entered the U.S. on a visitor visa on Oct. 19 and will be placed in immigration proceedings, according to an ICE statement shared with media.
- CAIR says Hamdi’s detention followed his speech at its Sacramento gala and ahead of a planned Florida event, and its attorneys are pursuing his release, with a CAIR leader reporting a visit to the ICE facility in McFarland.
- DHS officials publicly framed the action as barring foreigners who support terrorism, while a recent federal court ruling criticized parts of the administration’s visa-revocation approach for chilling protected speech.
- Conservative activist Laura Loomer publicly took credit for pressing officials to act, and advocacy-group allegations about Hamdi’s past statements circulated in posts and reports and are disputed by civil-rights groups, as U.K.-based organizations urged diplomatic engagement.