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Sami Hamdi, A. British The political commentator was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday after being detained by ICE officers at San Francisco International Airport, according to federal officials. A senior US official said the detention was related to comments he made about the Middle East.
Hamdi, who is MuslimWas on a speaking tour in the US and addressed Sacramento’s annual gala on Saturday. CaliforniaChapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations or CAIR.
“This morning, ICE agents abducted British Muslim journalist and political commentator Sami Hamdi at San Francisco Airport, apparently in response to his vocal criticism of the Israeli government during his ongoing speaking tour,” the group said in a social media post on Sunday.
The detention is the latest in the Trump administration’s efforts to identify and potentially expel thousands of foreigners in the United States who it says have either instigated or participated in unrest or publicly supported protests against Israel’s military operations in Gaza. The administration has also refused visas to applicants whose social media history has been critical of its policies.
Those actions have been criticized by civil rights groups as a violation of constitutional protections for freedom of speech, which apply to anyone in the United States, not just American citizens.
It was not immediately clear what specific comments led to Hamdi’s detention.
The group demands the immediate release of Hamdi
CAIR, the country’s largest Muslim advocacy organization, called for Hamdi’s immediate release. The group said Hamdi, 35, has not been deported and remains in US custody.
According to a senior US official, the decision to revoke Hamdi’s visa was taken on Friday after being alerted by his past and present statements related to the Middle East. The official did not specify what the comments were.
The official also said that Hamdi was traveling to the United States on a visitor visa, and not under the visa waiver program for which he might have been eligible as a British citizen.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, could not explain why it took several days to find and detain him.
Hamdi, a political commentator who frequently speaks out against Israel and the war in Gaza, is described on his LinkedIn profile as managing director of The International Interest, a risk and intelligence consulting group. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin indicated on social media Sunday that Hamdi’s “visa has been revoked and he remains in the custody of ICE pending removal.” ICE said in a statement that Hamdi entered the United States on Oct. 19 on a visitor visa.
“The State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs revoked Hamdi’s visa, effective immediately, on October 24, 2025. ICE detained Hamdi because he was in the country illegally and will be held for immigration proceedings,” ICE said.
Authorities have not said what comments led to the detention.
In response to questions Monday about his case, Homeland Security sent a link to a State Department post on X Sunday thanking Homeland Security for its efforts to remove Hamdi.
The State Department statement did not specifically say what Hamdi said or did that triggered the revocation, but said: “The United States has no obligation to host aliens” whom the administration finds “support terrorism and actively undermine the security of Americans. We continue to revoke visas for individuals who engage in such activity.”
Critics accused Hamdi of praising Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attacks in comments he made in a video posted online shortly after the war in Gaza began. He denied this, saying that he was not celebrating violence.
In a speech organized by the Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council in February 2024, he said, “Nobody is saying that October 7 was perfect. People are saying that October 7 was the natural consequence of the oppression that Palestinians are being subjected to.”
of britain foreign Office It said it was “in contact with the family of a British man detained in the United States and is in contact with local authorities.”
Hamdi was scheduled to speak at a CAIR event in Florida on Sunday.
As part of its intensified enforcement efforts, the administration has expelled South Africa’s ambassador to the United States for comments critical of the President donald trumpRevoked the visa of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to attend the United Nations General Assembly and revoked the visa of British punk-rap duo Bob Waylon. It said it was reviewing the status of more than 55 million current US visa holders for possible violations of its standards.
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Lee and Santana reported from Washington.