Milwaukee Islamic Society president fights deportation in court
Milwaukee Islamic leader Salah Sarsour back in federal court
Attorneys for a Milwaukee man facing deportation were back in a federal courtroom on Wednesday, July 29. Immigration officials arrested the president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee earlier this year.
MILWAUKEE - Attorneys for a Milwaukee man facing deportation were back in a federal courtroom today. Immigration officials arrested the president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee earlier this year.
Back in federal court
What we know:
Federal prosecutors say Salah Sarsour lied on his green card application over 30 years ago. But in court Wednesday, his defense argued that past convictions in Israel were the result of torture – and shouldn't be used against him now.
"It is so unjust to take a man who lived here for 32 years and done nothing wrong in this country and force him to sit in court," said Patrick Taurel, leading attorney in immigration court.
That's the core argument for keeping community leader Salah Sarsour in Milwaukee. His attorneys say the government is trying to deport him because of his political views.
"The fact that he’s being targeted for his speech is self-explanatory the provision of law that the government is invoked," Taurel said.
What they're saying:
On Wednesday, Sarsour's legal team provided a briefing after his hearing in Chicago immigration court.
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"Very unusual in which the government is handling case the court system is handling the case," Taurel said.
In June, the Milwaukee Islamic leader returned to Wisconsin after spending 80 days in a federal prison in Indiana. A judge ruled Sarsour raised a substantial claim that federal officials targeted him over his pro-Palestinian speech and ordered he be freed.
"Everybody should be terrified about who is next, and why they’re doing it, and what speech is next," said Luna Droubi, Sarsour's attorney.
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Sarsour's attorneys say the government is relying on decades-old Israeli military convictions – and they point to procedural anomalies, like removing the case from Chicago court to assign a Kansas City deputy chief judge. Sarsour's attorneys say the battle is far from being over. They are expecting more testimony to wrap up what they call the removeability portion of the hearing. Once that is concluded it will be up to the judge to make a decision and announce the steps needed to be taken.
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Abril Preciado and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from Patrick Taurel, Luna Droubi and past FOX6 News reporting.