LOS ANGELES (AP) – British political commentator Sami Hamdi was in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody after being detained by ICE agents at San Francisco International Airport on Monday, federal officials said. A senior U.S. official said the arrest was related to comments he made. middle east.
Hamdi, a Muslim, has been on a speaking tour in the United States, and on Saturday spoke at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) chapter’s annual gala in Sacramento, California.
“Early this morning, ICE officers 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 speaking tour,” the group said in a social media post on Sunday.
The detentions are the latest of the Trump administration. strengthened efforts Thousands of foreign nationals in the United States accused of inciting or participating in riots could be identified and expelled. publicly supported protests Opposes Israeli military operations in Gaza. The government also denied visas to applicants whose social media histories were critical of government policies.
These actions have been criticized by civil rights groups as violating the constitutional guarantee of free speech, which applies to everyone in the United States, not just American citizens.
It is not immediately clear what specific comments led to Hamdi’s detention.
The group calls for Hamdi’s immediate release.
CAIR, the country’s largest Muslim advocacy group, called for Hamdi’s immediate release. Hamdi, 35, has not been deported and remains in U.S. custody, the group said.
A senior U.S. official said the decision to revoke Hamdi’s visa was made on Friday out of concern over his past and current statements regarding the Middle East. Officials did not disclose the content of the comments.
The official also said Mr. Hamdi was traveling to the United States on a visitor visa rather than the Visa Waiver Program, which he might have been eligible for as a British citizen.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations and could not say why the search and arrest took several days.
Mr. Hamdi is a political commentator who is often critical of Israel. war in gazaHis LinkedIn profile lists him as managing director of The International Interest, a risk and intelligence consulting group. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said on social media Sunday that Hamdi’s “visa has been revoked and he remains in ICE custody until his release.” Hamdi entered the United States on a visitor visa on October 19, ICE said in a statement.
“The State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has revoked Mr. Hamdi’s visa, effective October 24, 2025, effective immediately. ICE has detained Mr. Hamdi as an illegal alien and will be placing him in immigration proceedings,” ICE said.
Mr. Hamdi was scheduled to speak at another event before being detained.
In response to questions Monday about his case, the Department of Homeland Security sent a link to a State Department post on X Sunday thanking Homeland Security for its efforts to remove Mr. Hamdi.
The State Department statement did not specifically address Mr. Hamdi’s behavior that led to the revocation, but said, “The United States is not obligated to accept foreign nationals who the administration deems to be supporting terrorism or actively violating the safety of Americans. We will continue to revoke the visas of those who engage in such activities.”
Critics have accused Hamdi of glorifying the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, in comments he made in a video posted online shortly after the outbreak of war in Gaza. He denied this and said he was not glorifying violence.
“No one is saying October 7th was right. People are saying October 7th is a natural outcome of the oppression being inflicted on Palestinians,” he said in a February 2024 talk sponsored by the Islamic Public Affairs Council of Canada.
Britain’s Foreign Office said: “We are in contact with the family of a British man detained in the US and are also in contact with local authorities.”
Hamdi was scheduled to speak at a CAIR event in Florida on Sunday.
As part of increased enforcement, the administration expelled the South African ambassador to the United States for comments critical of President Donald Trump, revoked Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s visa to attend the United Nations General Assembly, and revoked the visas of British punk rap duo Bob Villain. The agency said it is scrutinizing the current status of more than 55 million U.S. visa holders for potential violations of the standards.
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Lee and Santana reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Jill Lawless contributed to this report from London.
