US judge orders release of Palestinian rights advocate detained by ICE

Mosque leader says he was arrested and detained by immigration authorities for his advocacy on behalf of Palestine.A federal judge in the United States has ordered the release of Salah Sarsour, a Muslim leader who says his detention by immigration authorities was a form of retaliation for his outspoken support of Palestine.On Thursday, US District Judge James Patrick Hanlon ruled that Sarsour had raised a “substantial” claim that he was targeted for speech protected under the First Amendment of the US Constitution. That, in turn, could “render his detention unlawful”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Rights groups, Milwaukee leaders slam ICE’s arrest of Palestinian advocatelist 2 of 3Scholar Rumeysa Ozturk returns to Turkiye following Trump deportation pushlist 3 of 3Mahmoud Khalil to appeal US deportation case to Supreme Courtend of listHanlon also dismissed claims made under President Donald Trump that pro-Palestinian speech undermines US foreign policy interests.“The mere invocation of foreign relations concerns does not automatically trump First Amendment rights,” Hanlon, who was nominated by Trump in 2018, wrote in his decision.The Trump administration has used broad claims of national security to arrest and detain pro-Palestine foreign nationals in the US, drawing criticism from rights advocates.Civil liberties groups have depicted those efforts as an attempt to penalise voices critical of Israel and US foreign policy.Sarsour, a legal permanent resident in the US, was released several hours after Hanlon’s decision. In a prepared statement, he celebrated the ruling as a free-speech victory.“I am so relieved to be with my family. For 80 days, I haven’t been able to step outside and breathe fresh air,” said Sarsour, who has lived in the US for nearly 32 years.“This experience is a reminder to all of us that we must fight together for our right to be a voice for the silenced. I will never stop speaking for Palestine and humanity, wherever I am.”Lawyers for Sarsour, who has type two diabetes, say he lost more than 30 pounds (about 13.6kg) during his nearly three months in detention. He is the president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, the largest mosque in the Midwestern state of Wisconsin.