On March 30, on a morning like any other in my hometown of Milwaukee, a man in plain clothes emerged from a car speeding toward me, a handgun visible at his side, and asked, "Are you Salah Sarsour?” 

Within minutes, nearly a dozen cars and some 20 agents – masked, plainclothes, one flashing a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement badge – converged on me and informed me that I was under arrest. 

I was sure it was a case of mistaken identity.  

After all, I have been a legal permanent resident for over 30 years with a clean record here, a business owner deeply connected to my community, and a devoted father of six children and nine grandchildren, all of whom are U.S. citizens.

In a brazen assault on the First Amendment and an affront to the Constitution, I believe I was targeted, arrested and detained by the Trump administration for speaking out against the ongoing atrocities Israel is committing, just as I and so many others believe that Mahmoud Khalil, Sami Hamdi, Yaacub Ira, Leqaa Kordia and others were before me.     

ICE detentions like mine are an attack on the First Amendment

As a national leader supporting some of the largest and longest-standing grassroots organizations for Palestinian rights, my arrest marked a serious escalation in the Trump administration’s repression agenda. This is not just an attack against me and others working for Palestinian freedom; it is an........

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