An immigration judge ruled Wednesday that the federal government has grounds to seek the deportation of Salah Sarsour, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, and gave his legal team 30 days to appeal. At a status hearing, the judge said Sarsour’s case could proceed to the removal phase. The decision does not mean he has been deported; his attorneys have an opportunity to challenge the ruling. Federal officials allege that Sarsour failed to disclose two convictions on immigration paperwork. Testimony in the case has also addressed his detention by Israeli forces in the West Bank. Sarsour was arrested at age 15 in 1989 on allegations that he threw rocks and a Molotov cocktail at Israeli troops. In 1995, he was accused of trying to assist Hamas. His defense says confessions in those cases were obtained through torture. The Department of Homeland Security has also cited Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s position that Sarsour’s continued U.S. residency would have an “adverse consequence to U.S. foreign policy,” pointing specifically to his advocacy for Palestinian rights. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Sarsour at his Franklin home in March. His case drew criticism from members of Milwaukee’s Muslim community. Islamic Society Executive Director Othman Atta said at the time that Sarsour was targeted because “he dared to stand up to the Israeli government.” Sarsour spent nearly three months in federal detention in Indiana before his release in June. Deportation hearings began in Chicago in July. The case now moves toward the next stage unless an appeal changes its course.