U.S. immigration authorities detained British commentator Sami Hamdi, revoked his visa, and said he would be deported rather than allowed to complete his speaking tour in the United States, a Homeland Security official said on Sunday, October 26.
Hamdi spoke at a gala for the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Sacramento, California, on Saturday and was scheduled to speak on Sunday at one of the group’s events in Florida, the organization said in a statement. CAIR said he was detained at San Francisco International Airport.
Conservative figures had been urging the Trump administration to expel Hamdi from the United States.
Hamdi has appeared as an analyst and commentator on British TV networks. CAIR on Sunday called for his release and accused the Trump administration of detaining him over his criticism of the Israeli government.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has Hamdi in custody, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin posted on social media site X. “Under President Trump, those who support terrorism and undermine American national security will not be allowed to work or visit this country,” she wrote.
CAIR’s deputy director, Edward Ahmed Mitchell, said Hamdi had previously denied supporting Islamic militants and that the organization’s lawyers had been unable to reach him by Sunday evening.
“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,” CAIR said in a statement.
Conservative activist Laura Loomer on Sunday took credit for Hamdi’s arrest.
Since January, the Trump administration has pursued a sweeping crackdown on immigration, including increasing social media vetting, revoking visas for people it claims praised the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and deporting student visa and green card holders who have voiced support for Palestinians and criticized Israel’s conduct in the Gaza war.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza, launched in response to the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas’s attack on southern Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and laid waste to swaths of territory.
Israel says its offensive is aimed against Hamas and that it tries to avoid killing civilians, but a U.N. commission of inquiry last month assessed that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. Israel denies the allegation.
