SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 British journalist and political analyst Sami Hamdi was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revoked his visa, citing national security concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hamdi, who had just spoken at a Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) gala in Sacramento, was reportedly en route to Florida for another engagement when federal agents intercepted him at the airport. CAIR officials say he was taken into custody without prior notice and is currently being held at a detention facility in Bakersfield, California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe was, as we say, abducted at SFO,\u201d said Reshad Noorzay, executive director of CAIR\u2019s Sacramento Valley office. \u201cThis is a politically motivated move targeting his outspoken criticism of U.S. and Israeli policies in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary for DHS, confirmed on social media that Hamdi\u2019s visa had been revoked. \u201cUnder President Trump, those who support terrorism and undermine American national security will not be allowed to work or visit this country,\u201d she posted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hamdi, managing director of The International Interest, is known for his commentary on Middle East and North African affairs. His supporters argue that his detention is a violation of free speech and an attempt to silence dissenting voices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Civil rights groups have condemned the move. \u201cThis is a blatant affront to freedom of expression and press freedom,\u201d said Nihad Awad, CAIR\u2019s national executive director. \u201cTargeting a journalist for his views sets a dangerous precedent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also weighed in, calling the detention \u201cdeeply troubling.\u201d \u201cIf the government is using immigration powers to silence critics, it undermines the very principles of democracy,\u201d said ACLU attorney Omar Jadwat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
International press freedom watchdogs, including Reporters Without Borders, have called for Hamdi\u2019s immediate release and urged U.S. authorities to clarify the basis for the national security designation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As of Monday, Hamdi remained in ICE custody. Legal teams are reportedly preparing to challenge his removal and seek a reversal of the visa revocation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 British journalist and political analyst Sami Hamdi was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revoked his visa, citing national security concerns. Hamdi, who had just spoken at a Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) gala in Sacramento, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":22432,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[121],"class_list":["post-22431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-international","tag-u-s-airport-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Sami-Hamdi.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22431"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22433,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22431\/revisions\/22433"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}