CHICAGO —
Salah Sarsour, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, is fighting deportation in a Chicago hearing after being accused of lying on immigration paperwork and supporting terrorism.
Sarsour, who has lived in the U.S. for more than 32 years, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents outside his Franklin home in March. The Department of Justice alleges that he failed to disclose two convictions on his immigration paperwork and claims his actions support terrorism.
Sarsour's arrest in March caused an outcry in Milwaukee, particularly within the Muslim community.
"He was targeted for one thing. He dared to stand up to the Israeli government," said Islamic Society of Milwaukee Executive Director Othman Atta at the time.
Sarsour was detained in Indiana for nearly three months before being released in June. The ongoing deportation hearing could result in him being forced to leave his family and the life he has built in Milwaukee.
"I am a legal resident for more than 32 years. A family man. A community leader. A businessman. And I thought at the beginning they were mistaken; they just made a mistake," Sarsour said Monday.
Federal officials say Sarsour did not disclose two convictions from his time in the West Bank where he grew up. The convictions, handed down by an Israeli military court, include a 1989 case for throwing rocks and a Molotov cocktail at Israeli troops as a 15-year-old and a 1995 case for attempting to hold weapons and...
CHICAGO — Salah Sarsour, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, is fighting deportation in a Chicago hearing after being accused of lying on immigration paperwork and supporting terrorism....