ICE, seemingly at the behest of the vehemently Islamaphobic Laura Loomer, has detained well-known British Muslim journalist Sami Hamdi in the middle of his U.S. speaking tour because he is critical of Israel.
Hamdi was taken by ICE on Sunday at San Francisco International Airport just a few hours after speaking at a Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) gala. He is the managing director at The International Interest, an organization that “advises on geopolitical environments and risks across the globe,” according to its website.
“Thanks to the work of[Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem] and [Secretary of State Marco Rubio] and the men and women of law enforcement, this individual’s visa was revoked and he is in ICE custody pending removal,” wrote Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security. “Under President Trump, those who support terrorism and undermine American national security will not be allowed to work or visit this country.”
CAIR put out a very different statement.
“Abducting a prominent British Muslim journalist and political commentator on a speaking tour in the United States because he dared to criticize the Israeli government’s genocide is a blatant affront to free speech,” the organization wrote. “Our nation must stop abducting critics of the Israeli government at the behest of unhinged Israel First bigots. This is an Israel First policy, not an America First policy, and it must end.”
Loomer, an informal Trump adviser, took credit for Hamdi’s detainment, as she was posting obsessively about him for days prior to his arrest—calling Hamdi a Muslim Brotherhood jihadist who supports Hamas.
“This is not a ‘commentator.’ This is not a ‘guest speaker.’ This is a foreign agitator embedded in jihadist power networks — operating on U.S. soil and training U.S. activists overseas outside the reach of American law-enforcement,” Loomer wrote Sunday on X. “Let this serve as a warning to every jihadi operative, every Brotherhood front, and every Marxist collaborator using America as a staging ground: We are no longer just exposing you — we are forcing consequences.”
Loomer posted a video of Hamdi speaking positively about armed Palestinian resistance on October 7 while speaking vehemently against Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians.
“Netanyahu did not envisage, that for the first time since 1948, that Palestinians would actually retake land back from the Israelis … that Palestinians would be able to hold those territories for more than 72 hours,” he said in the video. “Celebrate the victory. Allah has shown the world that no normalization can erase the Palestinian cause.”
Loomer, without proof, also claimed that Hamdi has ambiguous ties to New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, who has received a massive amount of hate as the potential first Muslim mayor of NYC.
It’s telling that the White House seems to be following the marching orders of a woman who quite literally hates Muslims for a living. Hamdi’s detainment is in the same vein as those of Mahmoud Khalil, Rümeysa Öztürk, and Mohsen Mahdawi. It’s clear that anyone who dares speak ill of Israel—especially those of Arab or Muslim descent—are at risk of being attacked, muzzled, and deported.
The post ICE Detains British Journalist Who Dared Criticize Israel appeared first on New Republic.
