United States immigration officials have detained British political commentator Sami Hamdi, revoked his visa, and ordered his deportation, halting his planned speaking engagements across the country, according to a Homeland Security official on Sunday.
Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirmed in a post on X that Hamdi is currently in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Under President Trump, those who support terrorism and undermine American national security will not be allowed to work or visit this country,” she wrote.
Hamdi had just addressed a gala organized by the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Sacramento, California, on Saturday and was due to speak at another CAIR event in Florida the following day.
The organization said he was detained at San Francisco International Airport.
Calls for Hamdi’s expulsion had been growing among conservative figures prior to his arrest.
A frequent analyst and commentator on British television, Hamdi’s detention drew sharp criticism from CAIR, which condemned the move as retaliation for his outspoken criticism of the Israeli government.
The group on Sunday demanded his immediate release.
Reuters reported that attempts to reach Hamdi were unsuccessful. CAIR’s deputy director, Edward Ahmed Mitchell, stated that Hamdi had consistently denied any links to Islamic militants and that the group’s legal team had been unable to contact him as of 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 its statement.
Meanwhile, conservative activist Laura Loomer publicly claimed credit for Hamdi’s arrest on Sunday.
Since January, the Trump administration has implemented a sweeping immigration crackdown, tightening social media vetting, revoking visas for individuals accused of praising the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and deporting foreign students and residents who expressed solidarity with Palestinians or criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, assault on southern Israeli communities.
The operation has since killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and devastated large parts of the enclave.
Israel insists its offensive targets Hamas and that it seeks to minimize civilian casualties.
However, a U.N. commission of inquiry last month concluded that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, a charge that Israel has firmly denied.
