Sami Hamdi, pictured speaking in November 2024 in Illinois, was arrested on Sunday by federal immigration officers at San Francisco International Airport. Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu/Getty Images

British commentator Sami Hamdi was detained on Sunday by federal immigration officers during a speaking tour in the United States, in what a Muslim advocacy group said was retaliation for his criticism of Israel.

The Trump administration said its decision to detain Hamdi and revoke his visa underscores that the US has no obligation to host foreigners “who support terrorism and actively undermine the safety of Americans.”

But the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has called Hamdi’s treatment a “blatant affront to free speech” and called for his release.

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