ICE detains British Muslim political commentator Sami Hamdi at San Francisco airport
British political commentator Sami Hamdi, who was on a speaking tour in the United States, was detained by immigration enforcement officers at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday after his visa was revoked.
A Muslim civil rights group said his arrest was retaliation for his criticism of Israel.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin announced on social media that Hamdi’s visa has been revoked and Immigration and Customs Enforcement will hold him until he is deported. In her post, she also made baseless claims that Hamdi supported terrorism.
“Under President Trump, those who support terrorism and undermine U.S. national security will not be allowed to work in or visit this country,” McLaughlin wrote in a social media post on Sunday.
Hamdi, who is based in London, has been on a speaking tour in the United States, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights advocacy group. One of the group’s leaders said his visitor visa should last a few months.
The group said in a statement that Hamdi was detained “because he dared to criticize the Israeli government’s genocide during his travels” and called his detention a “blatant affront to freedom of expression.”
Hamdi attended the organization’s annual gala in Sacramento on Friday night and is scheduled to speak at an event in Florida on Sunday night.
Hamdi is a journalist and commentator who appears on British television networks analyzing developments in the Middle East as well as British domestic politics. According to his LinkedIn page, he is managing director and editor-in-chief of International Interest magazine, which “advises on the global political environment.”
Hamdi appears to be the latest of several immigrants and international travelers to have their U.S. visas revoked for political speech. In September, the Trump administration was rebuked by a federal judge who ruled that Secretary of State Marco Rubio unconstitutionally targeted pro-Palestinian non-citizens in an effort to silence criticism of Israel and its two-year U.S.-backed war in Gaza.
Hussam Ayloush, CEO of CAIR’s California chapter, said he attended the gala in Sacramento with Hamdi and was shocked to receive a text message from him around 7 a.m. Sunday informing him that Hamdi had been stopped by federal agents who told him he had to go with them.
On Monday afternoon, Eloush visited Hamdi along with two attorneys at the Golden State Annex, the ICE detention center in McFarland, where Hamdi is being held.
“When I went in to see him and check on him, I was embarrassed that my country was treating him that way,” Eloush said. “He did not cause or incite any harm to our country.”
Eloush said Hamdi was only guilty of “critics of what Israel is doing to the Palestinians and the complicit role of the U.S. government.”
CAIR said its legal team, as well as attorneys from the American Muslim Legal Foundation, are working to secure Hamdi’s release.
The group said Hamdi’s arrest came under pressure from right-wing activist Laura Loomer, who publicly acknowledged responsibility for Hamdi’s detention. She said on social media that ICE acted in response to her “relentless pressure.” The group said Loomer used anti-Muslim conspiracy theories to smear Hamdi.
Loomer said she successfully lobbied the U.S. government to ban medical treatment in the United States for Palestinian children injured by U.S. weapons during Israel’s war. In August, the Trump administration announced it would stop granting visitor visas to Palestinians from Gaza, including young children in need of serious medical care.
In response to a question from The Times about whether Hamdi’s detention was in response to his criticism of the United States and Israel, the Department of Homeland Security linked to a statement from the State Department on its
