Overview
- An immigration judge found on Wednesday that Salah Sarsour is removable on foreign‑policy and national‑security grounds while rejecting the government’s separate claim that he lied on his green‑card application.
- The ruling relies on a June 2025 State Department memo that authorizes use of a seldom‑used removal provision applied to other pro‑Palestinian advocates.
- Sarsour’s lawyers say his Israeli‑era confessions were coerced and that deportation to the West Bank would risk torture or death, noting his Type 2 diabetes and weight loss while held by ICE.
- A notice of appeal is due within 30 days, the presiding judge announced his retirement, and a different immigration judge will set the next steps in the removal-phase proceedings.
- Advocates and reporting place Sarsour’s case in a wider pattern of U.S. actions against pro‑Palestinian activists since October 2023 and highlight practical issues such as Jordan being listed as a removal destination because the United States does not recognize Palestine as a country.