British Journalist Sami Hamdi Fights Deportation While In ICE Detention

Several journalist unions and press freedom and free speech groups condemned President Donald Trump’s administration for detaining British journalist and political commentator Sami Hamdi.

“The arrest of Sami Hamdi constitutes a serious violation of his fundamental rights and poses a grave threat to freedom of expression and democratic principles,” declared International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) General Secretary Anthony Bellanger. 

Bellanger added, “We are deeply concerned by the apparent misuse of anti-terror legislation, which risks setting a dangerous precedent for journalists and citizens engaging in public debate and exercising their right to free speech.”

Hamdi regularly speaks out against the Israeli government and voices his support for Palestinian human rights. According to a statement from family and attorneys of Hamdi, he was visiting Muslim communities in the United States. He was “abducted by ICE” at the San Francisco International Airport in the morning on October 26. 

Hamdi had a ticket for a domestic flight to Tampa, Florida, where he was scheduled to speak at a banquet for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Both Anti-Muslim political activists Laura Loomer and Amy Mek claimed credit for convincing the Department of Homeland Security to detain him.  

A day after Hamdi was detained, attorneys from the California chapter of CAIR (CAIR-CA) met with him in ICE detention at the Golden State Annex in McFarland, California. They filed a habeas petition that requests that a federal court take action to protect Hamdi’s rights. CAIR attorneys also demanded an emergency temporary restraining order because they fear that the government will transfer him “away from his legal team.” 

Hamdi plans to fight deportation rather than simply board a plane and go home. He told CAIR-CA that he was grateful for everyone “who has spoken up in solidarity with him and encourages all Americans to continue calling for the United States to support human rights and “put America First, not the Israeli government first.”

However, his attorneys are concerned that Hamdi may be moved to Fresno, California, so that it will be harder for him to challenge his detention and removal.

National Union of Journalists (NUJ) assistant general secretary Séamus Dooley said: "We share the concerns expressed by the IFJ at the arrest and detention of Sami Hamdi. The circumstances surrounding his detention give cause for serious concern. There is no evidence that, as a journalist, he is guilty of a terrorist offense, and he should be released.” (NUJ is based in the United Kingdom.)

Hamdi entered the country with a valid visa for visitors traveling for business or tourism. It authorizes him to stay in the U.S. until April 18, 2026. His detention occurred after he spoke at CAIR’s annual gala in San Francisco.

“Detaining Hamdi violates his Fifth Amendment right to substantive due process,” according to the habeas complaint filed by CAIR-CA attorneys, immigration attorney Hassan Ahmad, and the Muslim Legal Fund of America. “He has been a frequent and lawful visitor to the United States for years, regularly traveling here for professional, journalistic, and academic engagements."

“As an internationally recognized political analyst and commentator, he has appeared on major U.S. networks such as CNN, MSNBC, and Al Jazeera English; spoken at conferences hosted by leading American universities and think tanks; and maintained longstanding professional and personal relationships with U.S. journalists, policymakers, and civic organizations.”

The complaint adds, “He has repeatedly entered the country on valid visas, maintained a spotless immigration record, and contributed to the public discourse that the First Amendment was designed to protect.”

Hamdi's attorneys argue, “The detention and removal of Hamdi are part of the same unconstitutional policy condemned in American Association of University Professors v. Rubio.”

“That court found by clear and convincing evidence that senior officials of the aforethought concerted their actions peacefully to assemble of non-citizen plaintiffs,” the attorneys further assert. “The same apparatus—Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), and the Secretary of State (DOS) has now been turned on Hamdi. His arrest follows his public speech critical of the United States and Israeli policy in Gaza and thus falls squarely within the pattern of viewpoint-based retaliation described in AAUP v. Rubio.”

After Hamdi was detained, the State Department said, "The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who support terrorism and actively undermine the safety of Americans. We continue to revoke the visas of persons engaged in such activity."

“Revoking a journalist’s visa for views that challenge the administration’s preferred narrative sends a chilling message that foreign nationals who speak critically risk expulsion through political retaliation,” said Tim Richardson, the director of PEN America’s Journalism and Disinformation Program. “Federal courts have already rebuked the administration for using deportations and visa revocations to silence dissent, making clear that targeting noncitizens for political speech is unconstitutional. Yet the government continues to wield immigration enforcement as a tool to censor, intimidate, and silence.”

The Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) called the detention of Hamdi a “blatant assault on free speech,” and added, “These are the tactics of the Thought Police.”

“FPF has filed FOIA requests with ICE and the State Department over Sami Hamdi's detainment, apparently for no other reason than saying something the administration doesn't like.”