British commentator Sami Hamdi has been detained by US immigration, who’ve revoked his visa and banned him from finishing his talking tour, a Homeland Safety official mentioned.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has Mr Hamdi in custody, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin posted on social media website X.
“Under President Trump, those who support terrorism and undermine American national security will not be allowed to work or visit this country,” she wrote.
“This individual’s visa was revoked and he is in ICE custody pending removal.”
Mr Hamdi spoke at a gala for the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Sacramento, California on Saturday and was scheduled to talk on Sunday at one of many group’s occasions in Florida, the organisation mentioned in an announcement.
CAIR mentioned he was detained at San Francisco Worldwide Airport.
Conservative figures had been urging the Trump administration to expel Hamdi from the US.
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CAIR known as for his launch and accused the Trump administration of detaining him over his criticism of the Israeli authorities.
CAIR’s deputy director, Edward Ahmed Mitchell, mentioned Hamdi had beforehand denied supporting Islamic militants.
“Abducting a prominent British Muslim journalist and political commentator on a speaking tour in the United States because he dared to criticise the Israeli government’s genocide is a blatant affront to free speech,” CAIR mentioned in an announcement.
Picture:
Sami Hamdi appeared on Sky to debate the Israel-Gaza warfare
Since January, the Trump administration has pursued a sweeping crackdown on immigration, together with growing social media vetting, revoking visas for folks it claims praised the homicide of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and deporting scholar visa and inexperienced card holders who’ve voiced assist for Palestinians and criticised Israel’s conduct within the Gaza warfare.
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Israel’s offensive in Gaza, launched in response to the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas’s assault on southern Israeli communities on 7 October 2023, has killed tens of 1000’s of Palestinians and laid waste to swathes of territory.
Israel says its offensive is aimed in opposition to Hamas and that it tries to keep away from killing civilians, however a UN fee of inquiry final month assessed that Israel had dedicated genocide in Gaza. Israel denies the allegation.
Hamas’s 7 October assault noticed 1,200 Israelis killed and greater than 200 others taken again to Gaza as hostages.
