Photo by Cherrie Hanson

Kareem Sarsour spoke about his father, Islamic Society president Salah Sarsour, at a packed press conference April 2, after the detention of the ISM president by ICE.

Following widespread advocacy by community organizations, resolutions from local governments and public outcry, members of Congress called for Islamic Society of Milwaukee president Salah Sarsour’s immediate release from ICE detention, as well as for updates on his health and wellbeing. So far, no responses from the Department of Homeland Security have been received, despite requests for answers by May 31, elected officials told the Wisconsin Muslim Journal Thursday.

Sarsour was taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents March 30. An April 2 post on the Department of Homeland Security’s website that announced his apprehension called Sarsour “a criminal and a terrorist,” and accused him of excluding information in his green card application about an arrest in the Israeli-occupied West Bank when he was a teenager. His attorneys and supporters say that is not true, and Sarsour, 53, is being targeted because he is an outspoken activist for Palestinians. His attorneys have said publicly they intend to fight the charges.

U.S. Congresswoman Gwen Moore

“When I heard that Salah was detained by ICE, I knew I had to visit him and conduct a wellness check,” U.S. Congresswoman Gwen Moore told WMJ. Moore visited the Clay County Jail in Indiana April 25. “He is a pillar in the community and has lived in the U.S. for more than thirty years,” Moore said. “I was immediately concerned that he was being targeted by the Trump administration for his advocacy for Palestinians. When I visited him, I left him with a copy of the Constitution to remind him that everyone is entitled to rights in this country.

“In addition to my visit, I wrote a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mullin, inquiring about the jail’s conditions and his care and calling for his release. While I have not received a response yet, this letter is not the end of my work.  I will continue using my voice and power as a lawmaker to push for his release.” 

U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin), Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) sent a joint letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin in May that condemned the arrest and detention of Mr. Sarsour, and raised questions about his care in detention. It called him a “respected leader in the Milwaukee community.”

They wrote: “Mr. Sarsour is a diabetic and we are concerned that he does not have appropriate access to healthcare, medical supplies and a healthy diet required to properly manage that chronic condition, including by regularly testing blood glucose. 

“In addition, we are concerned by reports that Mr. Sarsour has not been provided reasonable religious accommodations, such as a prayer mat. He had been using a facility-issued bath towel to perform his prayers, but this was recently confiscated without explanation and Mr. Sarsour has been forced to pray on the facility’s barren floors. This treatment is unacceptable.” 

A May 21 press release from Sen. Baldwin stated, “Mr. Sarsour has lived in the United States for more than 30 years without a criminal record and it appears he was targeted by the Trump Administration because of his political beliefs and exercising his First Amendment right to free speech.”

The press release goes on to say, “Baldwin raised alarm over the conditions of his detainment, expressed concern that Mr. Sarsour, a diabetic, does not have appropriate access to healthcare, medical supplies and a healthy diet required to properly manage that condition.”

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin

The senators asked for the following information by May 31: 

  • Any documents, including legal memoranda, which ICE relied on in making its decision to apprehend and detain Mr. Sarsour;
  • Any communication with the White House or the Office of Budget and Management regarding Mr. Sarsour’s apprehension or his detention;
  • Is Mr. Sarsour’s access to healthcare, nutrition and medical supplies in line with the recommendations of his medical doctor?
  • What protocols do ICE-operated or contracted facilities follow in cases of detainees with hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia? Are these protocols being followed as it pertains to Mr. Sarsour? 
  • What protocols do ICE-operated or contracted facilities follow to meet an individual’s reasonable requests for religious accommodations? Are these protocols being followed as it pertains to Mr. Sarsour?

Mullin has not yet responded to the senators, Sen. Baldwin’s office confirmed to WMJ Thursday. 

Physician sounds the alarm

Sarsour’s primary care physician Waleed Najeeb, M.D., sounded the alarm about his patient’s health through multiple letters he wrote to both Homeland Security and to elected officials. 

“He has multiple medical issues and cannot just be left without medical care,” Najeeb said. “I suggested that either I go to see him or that he be brought to me under supervision.” That has not happened.

Waleed Najeeb, M.D., Salah Sarsour’s primary care physician

As an alternative, Najeeb proposed another doctor visit Sarsour and conduct a physical exam. “I sent a letter to the jail itself requesting that option,” he told WMJ. Najeeb heard that might happen but he has not received confirmation and WMJ could not confirm by deadline that a physician has visited Mr. Sarsour. “They are not communicating with me, neither with his family,” Najeeb said.

As a doctor, Najeeb said he could not address anything about Sarsour’s medical condition, but he lamented the conditions of the jail he has heard about. “Being held for months, not being out in fresh air, not having regular foods that are on his prescribed diet, not monitoring his blood-sugar levels—all are troubling,” he said. 

Najeeb follows Sarsour’s health “almost on a daily basis,” he said. “I ask either his family or his lawyer. Also, the politicians who are checking on him keep me informed through email and phone calls. I give them my medical advice and ask them to transmit it to Homeland Security. “(DHS) can bring a physician and give a summary of his condition, and that should happen,” he said.

“He’s my patient,” Najeeb said. “I’m concerned for his wellbeing. I don’t have any solid information about his condition and there is no doctor seeing him. People who have diabetes and don’t take good care of it have permanent complications—kidney failure or a peripheral arterial problem that results in the amputation of your toes or your foot. There are so many things that can happen. 

“It’s unbelievable this is happening in the United States,” he added. “I have had patients who are in jail. They come to my office with officers escorting them. We take care of them and they go back. What is happening in this case is not the normal way of dealing with people who are incarcerated. ICE appears to have its own rules.”

A recent update

Among the few people who have access to Mr. Sarsour is one of his lawyers, Munjed Ahmad, who spoke with WMJ yesterday.

Salah Sarsour’s attorney Munjed Ahmad

“I talked to Salah (Wednesday),” he said. “He is a man of devout faith and that is giving him strength. He explains that he knows that what’s happening to him is a test from Allah.

“It has not been easy,” Ahmad continued. “In fact, he’s lost more than 30 pounds. He is not being provided nutritional foods as would generally be required for a diabetic and his blood sugar is not being checked regularly.

Sarsour is “extremely appreciative” of the groundswell of support he receives, Ahmad said. Milwaukee’s Muslim community and also organizations and individuals around Wisconsin and the nation have called for Sarsour’s release and shown support in a myriad of ways.

“He’s received hundreds of letters that help uplift him. He’s humbled by the fact that so many people have taken the time to write letters and attend events for him. 

“He also believes that his case is not only a fight for himself; he is fighting because he believes in justice and thinks that his case has the potential to help or harm all of our Constitutional rights.

“Salah is dedicated to the Milwaukee Muslim community and has spent a great deal of time praying for our community,” Ahmad added.

“I am absolutely concerned with the way he is being treated. Not only is he suffering from health concerns and the lack of proper nutrition, but he is also being treated like a criminal, which he is not, and being talked to in a manner that is demeaning and dehumanizing.

“I hope he will be released soon.”

The next immigration court date for Mr. Sarsour is scheduled for June 10 to take place in the Kansas Immigration City Immigration Court in Missouri. His legal team, led by the Muslim Legal Fund of America will defend him in these removal proceedings.

His attorneys are also petitioning for his release through habeas corpus proceedings in federal district court. A habeas corpus petition challenges the lawfulness of a detainee or prisoner’s confinement by the government.

Wisconsin Muslim Civic Alliance executive director Fauzia Qureshi (left) and Alan Chavoya with Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (right) are from two of the many local and national civic and activist organizations that have worked diligently to keep the case of ISM president Salah Sarsour’s ICE detention before the public.