CAIR demands ICE release British journalist abducted for criticising Israel’s Genocide

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) – the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organisation in the US, has demanded the immediate release of Sami Hamdi, the British Muslim journalist and political commentator. He was detained at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday morning, at the urging of a “notorious anti-Muslim, pro-Israel extremist”, for exposing and criticising Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

CAIR, based in Washington DC, said:

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.

Our attorneys and partners are working to address this injustice. We call on ICE to immediately account for and release Mr. Hamdi, whose only ‘crime’ is criticizing a foreign government that committed genocide.

Our nation must stop abducting critics of the Israeli government at the behest of unhinged Israel First bigots. This is an Israel First policy, not an America First policy, and it must end.

Hamdi was on a speaking tour in the US, something he has done many times before, and had spoken CAIR Sacramento’s annual gala on Saturday evening; he was scheduled to speak at CAIR Florida’s gala on Sunday night.

Renowned bigot

Pro-Israel fanatic Laura Loomer, who has frequently posted anti-Muslim hate and a spew of racist comments, describes herself as a “proud Islamophobe” and predicted that New York City would suffer “another 9/11” because Muslim Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic party mayoral nomination there:

There will be another 9/11 in NYC and @ZohranKMamdani will be to blame.

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) June 25, 2025

And, she has publicly taken credit for his abduction, claiming that ICE acted in response to her demands and smearing Hamdi with various anti-Muslim conspiracy theories. She wrote on her social media account:

After Amy Mek’s @AmyMek investigation exposed Sami Hamdi (see report below) — a jihadi foreign national operating inside the United States and abroad with banned Muslim Brotherhood figures who are barred from entering our country — I demanded that federal authorities inside the Trump administration treat Hamdi as the major National security threat that he is and I reported Sami Hamdi to federal immigration authorities over his documented support for Islamic terrorism.

As a direct result of Amy’s report and my relentless pressure on the State Department and Department of Homeland Security, U.S. officials have now moved to take action against Hamdi’s visa status and his continued presence in this country.

She concluded the post with the inflammatory rejoinder:

SCALP

Loomer’s incitement

CAIR has previously called on Donald Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio to admit whether he spoke directly with anti-Muslim extremist Laura Loomer, as she claims, before banning Palestinian children injured by American weapons in Gaza from seeking medical care in the US. A day after Loomer posted videos on social media complaining about children from Gaza arriving in the U.S. for medical treatment and questioning how they obtained visas, the State Department said it was halting all visitor visas for people from Gaza pending a review.

In a tweet, Loomer thanked Rubio for halting the visas. The New York Times reported that Loomer claimed to have spoken with Rubio on Friday night to ‘alert’ him to the “jihadi’s” flights and what she called the threat of an “Islamic invasion”.

Featured image via CAIR