Salah Sarsour has spent 32 years building a life in Milwaukee. He is a grandfather of nine, a business owner, a faith leader, and the president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee — the largest Islamic organization in Wisconsin. On Monday morning, he was surrounded by plainclothes ICE agents and taken from his community without warning. He is now locked in a detention facility in Indiana, separated from his family, his congregation, and the city he has called home for three decades.

The government's justification for this arrest reaches back to when Sarsour was a teenager in the Israeli-occupied West Bank — a conviction his supporters say was obtained under coercion, in a language he did not speak, for alleged acts he has always disputed. He served his time. He came to the United States in 1993. The U.S. government vetted his application, was aware of his record, and granted him legal permanent residency in 1998. For over three decades, he has lived here without a single criminal charge, conviction, or arrest in this country.

So why now? The timing is hard to ignore. Sarsour has been a vocal advocate for Palestinian rights and a board member of American Muslims for Palestine. His legal team at the Muslim Legal Fund of America has filed a writ of habeas corpus arguing that this detention is rooted not in law, but in a desire to silence him for his protected speech.

This is not just about one man. When a community leader can be pulled off the street by armed agents in plain clothes — no warning, no transparency, no U.S. criminal record — none of us are safe. The Constitution guarantees due process to all persons on American soil, not just citizens. That guarantee means nothing if the government can simply bypass it by reaching back 35 years to a foreign conviction that was disputed from the start.

Salah Sarsour belongs at home with his family. We are calling on federal officials to release him immediately, honor the due process protections he is entitled to under the Constitution, and stop using the immigration system as a tool to target community leaders for their political beliefs.

Sign this petition. Demand his freedom.