Sami Hamdi Considers Legal Action Against U.S. Over Immigration Detention

Thu Nov 13 2025 21:24:33 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Upon returning to the UK, British commentator Sami Hamdi reflects on his recent detention in the U.S., claiming it was targeted due to his advocacy for Palestine and Gaza.

Sami Hamdi, a British political commentator, has returned to the UK following his detention in a U.S. immigration center, suggesting that his arrest was linked to his views on Gaza and Israel. He is contemplating legal action against U.S. authorities, asserting that his detention impinged on free speech rights. Despite this, he expressed gratitude for support from federal judges who ruled in his favor, maintaining that the accusations against him were politically motivated.

LONDON (AP) — British political commentator Sami Hamdi said Thursday on his arrival back in the U.K. that he was considering suing U.S. authorities for his detention in an immigration detention center over what he claims were his views on Gaza and Israel.

Two days after revealing that he was leaving the U.S. voluntarily, Hamdi lauded federal judges for exonerating him over what he termed a “botched” detention by “extremists” within the U.S. government.

“I want to say that this wasn’t just an attack on me, it was an attack on the freedoms of ordinary Americans and citizens worldwide,” he told journalists and supporters outside a hotel near London’s Heathrow Airport following his return.

Hamdi, who is Muslim, was on a speaking tour in the U.S. when he was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Oct. 26. He had just addressed the annual gala for the Sacramento, California, chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, the day before his arrest.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said at the time of Hamdi’s arrest that the U.S. State Department had revoked his visa and that ICE had put him in immigration proceedings, accusing him of supporting Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Hamdi later clarified that his intent wasn’t to praise the attacks but to state that the violence was “a natural consequence of the oppression that is being put on the Palestinians.”

“I did nothing illegal in the U.S.,” he stated. “Everything was within the visa. Everything was in the limits of what the visa allowed me to do. The visa was revoked because of my advocacy for Palestine. It was revoked because of advocacy for Gaza.”

His detention was part of broader efforts by the Trump administration to identify and potentially expel thousands of foreigners who were seen to have fomented or participated in unrest or publicly supported protests against Israel’s military operations in Gaza.

These enforcement actions drew criticism from civil rights groups as violations of constitutional protections for freedom of speech, which apply to anyone in the United States, not just American citizens.

Hamdi, 35, said he is discussing the possibility of legal action with his lawyers but expressed hesitation, noting that “cool heads” in the U.S. State Department and the federal court system had prevailed.

“In respect of those cooler minds, I would rather celebrate,” he reflected. “I won this case; the extremists failed to silence my voice. America stood with me.”

Hamdi confirmed that there are no conditions attached to his voluntary departure and that he is not barred from seeking another U.S. visa in the future.