British political commentator Sami Hamdi was arrested this Monday, October 27, by the US Immigration and Customs Service (ICE), after being detained at San Francisco International Airport, according to federal authorities.
A senior US official said the arrest was related to comments made by Sami Hamdi about the Middle East.
Hamdi, who is Muslim, was in a tour speaking engagements in the US and on Saturday he had attended the annual gala of the Sacramento, California, chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR.
“This morning, ICE agents detained 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 tour of ongoing lectures”, said the CAIR group in a post on social media.
The detention comes in the context of a more recent effort by the Trump administration to identify and potentially expel thousands of foreigners from the United States who allegedly fomented or participated in unrest or supported public protests against Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip.
The US administration also denied visas to applicants whose social media histories were critical of its policies.
These actions have been criticized by civil rights groups as violations of constitutional protections for free speech, which apply to anyone in the United States, not just American citizens.
It is not yet clear which specific comments Hamdi made that triggered the arrest, writes the Assoiated Press news agency.
CAIR, the country’s largest Muslim advocacy organization, called for Hamdi’s immediate release. The group said Hamdi, 35, was not deported and remains in custody in the US, after being alerted to his past and current comments related to the Middle East, the decision was made on Friday to reject Hamdi’s visa, according to a US official.
The official also said that Hamdi was traveling in the United States on a visitor visa and not under the Visa Waiver Program, for which he could have been eligible as a British citizen.
The American official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, could not explain why it had taken several days to locate and detain Hamdi.
The political commentator, who frequently speaks out against Israel and the war in the Gaza Strip, is described on his LinkedIn profile as managing director of The International Interest, a risk and intelligence consultancy group.
The company has also not yet responded to a request for comment.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin indicated Sunday on social media that Hamdi’s “visa was rejected and he is in ICE custody awaiting expulsion.”
ICE said in a statement that Hamdi entered the U.S. on Oct. 19 on a visitor visa. “The Department of State, through the Office of Consular Affairs, revoked Hamdi’s visa on October 24, 2025, effective immediately.”
Thus, ICE detained Hamdi because he was in the country illegally. “And he will be placed in immigration proceedings,” ICE added.
Hamdi was expected to speak at another event before being detained.
In response to questions today about his case, the Department of Homeland Security sent a link to a State Department post on social media site X on Sunday, thanking the Department of Homeland Security for its efforts to remove Hamdi.
The State Department’s statement did not specifically say what Hamdi had said or done that led to his rejection, but it did say: “The United States has no obligation to welcome aliens” who the administration considers “support terrorism and actively undermine the security of Americans. We continue to revoke the visas of people involved in such activities.”
The British Foreign Office said it was “in touch with the family of the British man detained in the US and in contact with local authorities.”
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