Salah Sarsour, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, plans to appeal an immigration judge’s ruling that he can be deported from the United States, a decision based on a recommendation from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to Sarsour’s legal team. The ruling came Wednesday, Sept. 30. Sarsour has lived legally in the country for 33 years. He was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents outside his Franklin home in March and held at an Indiana detention facility for nearly three months. A federal judge ordered his release in June. The immigration judge cited a letter from Rubio recommending Sarsour’s removal on foreign-policy grounds. Sarsour’s attorney Patrick Taurel said the decision relied on what he described as thin allegations and evidence deemed sufficient only on a presumptive basis. Taurel said the judge concluded he could not review the secretary of state’s finding and had to follow higher-court rulings. Sarsour’s attorneys say the government has accused him of lying on immigration paperwork decades ago, but argue the case is connected to his advocacy for Palestinian human rights. Attorney Luna Droubi also raised concerns that immigration courts are part of the executive branch, saying that structure can leave decisions vulnerable to the administration’s policies. The government’s allegations and the lawyers’ characterization of the case have not been resolved in the planned appeal. Sarsour remains free as his legal team prepares to take the case to federal court; his attorneys expect a decision well into next year. In a statement, Sarsour said he was disappointed by the ruling but would keep fighting to remain in the country he has called home for more than three decades. He also framed the case as a defense of free speech.