MILWAUKEE, WI — The Wisconsin Muslim Civic Alliance (WMCA) today celebrates the federal court order for the immediate release of Salah Sarsour, President of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, who has been held in an ICE detention facility in Indiana for more than 80 days.
U.S. District Judge James P. Hanlon ordered Brother Salah’s immediate release on his own recognizance pending adjudication of his petition for habeas corpus. In a 29-page order, the court found that “Mr. Sarsour has raised a ‘substantial’ First Amendment retaliation claim, which could render his detention unlawful,” and that “Mr. Sarsour’s speech in support of Palestinian rights is protected by the First Amendment.” The court also noted that Sarsour has abided by the law during his past 33 years in the United States, has complied with the immigration system, and has suffered from serious health conditions while in custody, including losing more than 30 pounds and receiving inadequate care for his Type 2 diabetes.
“Today Wisconsin wins,” said Fauzia Qureshi, Executive Director of WMCA. “Brother Salah is coming home. This victory belongs to every community member who made a call, showed up to a hearing, signed a petition, and refused to accept that this was normal. This is what community power looks like.”
Following Sarsour’s detention on March 30, 2026, WMCA has led a sustained, multi-front campaign for Sarsour’s release. The efforts included, but were not limited to: securing a unanimous Milwaukee Common Council resolution and a Milwaukee County Board resolution that passed 16-2; obtaining letters of support from U.S. Senators Baldwin, Sanders, and Van Hollen, addressed to the Department of Homeland Security; facilitating Congresswoman Gwen Moore’s welfare visit to the Indiana detention facility; meeting directly with congressional offices during Muslim Hill Day in Washington D.C. alongside one of Sarsour’s sons, Kareem Sarsour; and joining coalition partners to hand-deliver letters to every member of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation.
“We testified. We organized. We called. We showed up,” said Qureshi. “And today a federal judge confirmed what we always knew, Brother Salah’s detention was illegal. His speech was protected. And no community should have to fight this hard simply to bring a grandfather home.”
While WMCA celebrates today’s ruling, the broader pattern of immigration enforcement targeting Muslim and Palestinian community members across the country remains a critical civil rights issue.
“If they can do this to Salah Sarsour, a man who lived here for more than three decades, who built and supported community institutions and served his neighbors every day, they can do it to anyone,” said Qureshi.
