He celebrated Oct. 7 and criticized Israel. Now, ICE has detained him.
Sami Hamdi told a crowd after Oct. 7 to ‘celebrate the victory’
Sami Hamdi, who was detained Sunday by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Screenshot of The Prophets’ Wisdom and Muslims’ Struggle: Sami Hamdi’s Vision for Victory
By Hannah Feuer October 27, 2025
A British political commentator known for his vocal criticism of Israel was detained Sunday in California by federal immigration authorities and is now facing deportation.
Sami Hamdi was in the middle of a speaking tour with the Council on American-Islamic Relations when he was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at San Francisco International Airport.
CAIR said the detainment was “because he dared to criticize the Israeli government’s genocide.” The development is the latest in a string of deportations carried out by the Trump administration that civil rights groups have characterized as an attack on political speech, particularly pro-Palestinian activism.
CAIR positions itself as the leading civil rights organization for Muslims in the U.S. The nonprofit has long been criticized by the political right and groups like the Anti-Defamation League as trafficking in “openly antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric.”
The press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, posted to X in reference to Hamdi’s detainment that “those who support terrorism and undermine American national security will not be allowed to work or visit this country.”
Days after the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, Hamdi told a crowd to “celebrate the victory” while speaking at a mosque and Islamic community center in London.
“How many of you felt the euphoria?” Hamdi asked, declaring that Hamas brought “a huge victory” that banished the despair Palestinians had felt since 1948, when Israel was founded. The Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas killed about 1,200 people in Israel, with about 250 taken to Gaza, where Israel’s response has since killed an estimated 67,000 Palestinians in the strip.
Laura Loomer, the Jewish right-wing political activist who has played an influential role in the Trump administration’s deportation campaigns, celebrated Hamdi’s detainment.
“We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who support terrorism and actively undermine the safety of Americans,” The State Department posted to X. “We continue to revoke the visas of persons engaged in such activity.”
In previous deportation cases, the Trump administration has cited the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, a McCarthy-era law that allows the government to deport individuals whom the Secretary of State “has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.” Some legal scholars have argued the law is intended to apply to exceptional cases where someone’s presence in the U.S. could cause diplomatic turmoil, rather than people who use inflammatory rhetoric.
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