Muslim leader speaks out after more than 80 days in ICE detention: ‘It brought back memories from Palestine’

Jul 21, 2026 - 12:20

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Muslim leader speaks out after more than 80 days in ICE detention: ‘It brought back memories from Palestine’

Salah Sarsour, president of Wisconsin’s largest mosque, said ‘dehumanizing’ treatment reminded him of time spent in Israeli military jail

The president of Wisconsin’s largest mosque said he was subjected to “dehumanizing” treatment during more than 80 days in federal immigration custody – treatment that reminded him of the time he spent in Israeli military prisons in occupied Palestine nearly four decades ago.

“It all brought back old memories of things that happened to me when I was tried in Palestine,” said Salah Sarsour in his first interview since being released last month. “The humiliation, the treatment by guards, the way they talk to people, the way they try to put people down.” He said he lost more than 30lb while in immigration detention.