SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — British journalist and political commentator Sami Hamdi had his visa revoked at San Francisco Worldwide Airport Sunday morning.
Hamdi had been in Sacramento talking to the Council on American Islamic Relations.
Now, there’s concern that he will probably be deported.
“He was, as we are saying, kidnapped at SFO, and we imagine he was taken — so far as we all know — to a detention middle in Bakersfield,” mentioned Reshad Noorzay, government director of CAIR-Sacramento Valley Central Valley workplace.
CAIR, the Council on American Islamic Relations, mentioned Hamdi was detained at SFO though he had a sound visa.
MORE: CA journalist amongst these detained by Israeli navy whereas aboard Gaza-bound flotilla, report says
Saturday evening, he spoke at a CAIR Gala in Sacramento
“He has been publicly talking concerning the genocide in Gaza, brazenly talking in opposition to the Israeli apartheid occupation,” Noorzay mentioned.
Hamdi was heading to talk at one other CAIR Gala in Florida when ICE detained him.
The Division of Homeland Safety Assistant Secretary posted on “X” that Hamdi poses a risk to nationwide safety.
She mentioned, “Those that help terrorism and undermine American nationwide safety is not going to be allowed to work or go to the nation.”
“We see it as a transparent violation of First Modification protections. You recognize, federal authorities right here detained him on the behest of a anti-Muslim extremist particular person, Laura Loomer, and a bunch that had been advocating for his detention and for the revoking of his visa on baseless claims,” Noorzay mentioned.
CAIR mentioned their attorneys are working to get Hamdi launched.
Hamdi was scheduled to talk at a number of Canadian universities up to now, however these have been canceled.
Critics say he celebrated the Oct. 7 assault by Hamas. Hamdi says that is not true.
Legal professional Marc Van Der Hout says his agency represents Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian American scholar at Columbia College.
MORE: Columbia protester Mahmoud Khalil free of immigration detention
Van Der Hout mentioned the Trump Administration additionally tried to deport his consumer for talking out in opposition to what’s occurring in Gaza. Vander Hout mentioned his consumer was launched from federal immigration detention after 104 days.
“I feel that is the newest try by this administration to silence individuals who need to converse out in opposition to what this administration is doing in Israel and what the Israeli authorities is doing in Gaza. This has to cease, as a result of it is purely protected First Modification proper speech that individuals are being harassed for and being imprisoned for now,” mentioned Van Der Hout.
ABC7 Information reached out to ICE and the U.S Division of Homeland Safety however has not heard again.
William Gould, emeritus legislation professor at Stanford Regulation College mentioned the detention by ICE is an indication.
“What it says is that the present local weather may be very very like the horrible McCarthy interval that we went by on this nation within the Fifties, the place positions held by those that held dissenting views have been suppressed, and the place sanctions have been employed in opposition to them,” Gould mentioned. “The risk is even larger than it was within the interval of McCarthy, as a result of now we see the manager workplace now repressing free speech. This could by no means be tolerated in a free society, right here in addition to elsewhere.”
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