Over 150 people gathered outside of Clay County Jail for an interfaith vigil demanding freedom for Salah Sarsour on June 14.
Sarsour, a revered Palestinian community leader and permanent legal resident, has been held there since March 30, when twelve ICE vehicles descended on a Milwaukee neighborhood to arrest him. They transported him out of state to the Clay County Jail, an ICE-contracting facility that holds 250 immigrants a night.
Organizers described Sarsour as a longtime civic and humanitarian leader in Milwaukee whose work extended beyond the Palestinian community, citing his involvement with refugee assistance and youth programs.
“I think of him as extraordinary. Like a tour of mitzvahs, we would say. Like a doer of good deeds,” said Jodi Melamed, a Milwaukee Jewish Community leader and friend of Salah. “He is loved in Milwaukee for his work with the Rohingya and Afghan refugee committees. He supports youth in everything, like well-being, mentorship, and education. He’s a strong and effective voice for Palestine. In our Jewish organizing, he has never let us down. We’ve come to him many times for a need for space or for funds to bring in a visiting rabbi to do our interfaith and organizing work, and he is always there for us.”
Prison officials have denied him access to space and materials to pray, as well as the halal foods that devout Muslims are required to eat. Friends and supporters of Salah Sarsour said his health has deteriorated during more than two months in immigration detention.
Since March 30, Sarsour has been regularly deprived of necessary medications and his right to practice his faith. Sarsour, who is diabetic, has not been permitted to test his glucose levels, endangering his health and violating American Medical Association standards for the treatment of diabetics in immigration detention.
“Salah is a type 2 diabetic. He needs to test his blood every day. They let him test monthly at best. He has lost 30 pounds in detention, and he’s very ill,” said Rachel Ida Buff, an immigration historian and Milwaukee Jewish community leader who traveled to be present. “He has asked for a prayer rug and had it taken away. When he asked for a Quran, he was offered a Bible. When he’s asked for healthy food, they have offered him pork rinds, which is just cruelty in action.”
Buff added that the deportation of Salah Sarsour was part of a cruel campaign of deportations against immigrant neighbors, and was reminiscent of the state terror faced by her Jewish ancestors. She said that when Jews say “Never Again,” it was meant for anyone.
Sarsour’s oldest son, Kareem, expressed the pain caused by his father’s detention.
“We never imagined we would be placed in the situation we are in today,” said Kareem. “Every day is nerve-racking knowing my father is only a few hours away, suffering, and we can’t reach him.”
The detention center vigil was organized and led by a coalition of midwestern Jews from across political and denominational spectrums. The coalition was joined by an interfaith group, including members of the Sarsour family, Muslim and Jewish religious leaders, and immigrant rights advocates.
Supporters wore all white and carried banners reading “Jews say protect Palestinian speech,” as Jewish, immigrant rights activists, and Sarsour’s family spoke to the crowd.
Many participants traveled hours to the detention center to call for Sarsour’s freedom and an end to ICE terror. Among those attending the vigil from Wisconsin was U.S. Representative Gwen Moore, whose 4th Congressional District includes Milwaukee.
The Congresswoman was able to get into the jail to see Sarsour. She reported that his spirits were lifted by hearing the voices of those attending the vigil, but that he missed getting to play with his grandchildren most of all.
Representative Moore said she has known Sarsour for years and questioned the circumstances surrounding his detention.
“I’m stunned that he is in this situation,” said Representative Moore. “There are a lot of bad people in this world. He’s not one of them. This is my second visit with him.”
The detention of Salah Sarsour occurs at a dangerous moment of heightened Islamophobia, fueled by Donald Trump’s authoritarian ambitions. Since his return to the White House, Trump has weaponized ICE into his personal police force to terrorize the American public. Two Americans in Minneapolis, Renée Nicole Good and Alex Jeffrey Pretti, were gunned down by ICE agents with impunity in January.
“We oppose the state terror done in the name of Jewish Americans against Salah and other Palestinians,” Melamed added.
ICE’s unchecked power was recently bolstered by the Republican-dominated Congress, which approved an unprecedented $70 billion to support the agency through the end of Trump’s term in office.
“As Jews, we reject the use of our community’s legitimate concerns as a smokescreen for policies that separate families and undermine democracy,” said Rabbi Bruce Elder, a pulpit rabbi in Illinois.
Wisconsin State Representative Ryan Clancy said Sarsour has spent 33 years as a member of the Milwaukee community after arriving from Palestine, where he experienced violence, abuse, and detention as a child.
“He has become a leader, an employer, an advocate, and an example. He is the best of us,” said Representative Clancy.
Several speakers also linked Sarsour’s detention to broader concerns about anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian sentiment in the United States. Indiana-based Muslim American organizer Yacoub Saadeh said recent public rhetoric targeting Muslims contributes to a climate of intolerance.
“Statements like these fuel harmful narratives that demonize Muslims and normalize Islamophobia,” Saadeh said.
Madison Jewish community leader Shahanna McKinney-Baldon said her family’s history informed her support for Sarsour and other immigrants facing detention.
“Unlike Salah, we are able to exercise our right to speak freely today only because my mother’s four Ashkenazi Jewish grandparents were able to escape antisemitism and violence in Europe,” said McKinney-Baldon.
Milwaukee Jewish community leader Harriet McKinney Mandelman invoked the biblical story of Exodus as she described why she views Sarsour’s detention as a personal concern.
“Salah Sarsour is my people,” said Mandelman. “I am the wife of an Orthodox rabbi and Brother Salah is an Orthodox Muslim, and he is my people. We are all connected.”
Speakers also argued that the concerns raised about Sarsour’s treatment reflect broader issues within the immigration detention system. Christian immigrant-rights advocate Stuart Mora said complaints about inadequate medical care are common among detainees.
“The medical neglect Salah is experiencing is rampant in these facilities,” said Mora.
Indiana immigrant-rights organizer Sayra said the gathering was intended to show support for families affected by immigration detention and to demonstrate solidarity across communities.
“We are here because silence is not an option,” said Sayra. “We are here because when one member of our community is targeted, all of us are called to respond.”
Sarsour has missed the birth of one grandchild while in detention, and another grandchild is expected soon. Supporters said they hope he will be released in time to meet the newest member of his family.
© Photo
Courtesy of Jews for Salah
