MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN — Salah Sarsour, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, was taken into custody by nearly a dozen U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Monday in Milwaukee after he left his home. Supporters called on Thursday for Sarsour's immediate release at a news conference where they chanted for his freedom and recounted his advocacy for people in need.

Sarsour, a Palestinian-born legal permanent resident who holds a green card, was detained on the grounds that he is a foreign policy threat, his attorneys said. He is being held at a county jail in Indiana, and his attorneys have filed a petition seeking his release.

The Islamic Society of Milwaukee is the largest mosque in Wisconsin, and Sarsour has served as its board president for five years. He was born in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and has lived in the United States for more than 30 years, his attorneys said. His wife and four adult children are U.S. citizens, and he has no criminal record in the U.S., according to his attorneys. Sarsour lives just outside Milwaukee.

Supporters said Sarsour was targeted for speaking out against Israel and for a conviction as a minor by Israeli military courts. His offenses allegedly included throwing rocks at Israeli officers, according to attorney Munjed Ahmad. The U.S. government has been aware of Sarsour's conviction in Israel since he came to the U.S. in 1993, his attorneys said. Israeli military courts have faced scrutiny over allegations of limited due process and high conviction rates of Palestinians. Israel rejects those claims.

Supporters at the news conference recalled stories Sarsour had told about his childhood, including allegations of inhumane treatment while he was detained by Israeli forces. His attorneys likened his case to that of Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student activist who faces deportation because the federal government said he was a foreign policy threat.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said, "This is an outrage. He is a legal permanent resident. There is no substantive evidence he has done anything wrong." Johnson added, "This is another example of overreach and harm from the U.S. immigration authorities."

Paul D. Erickson, bishop of the Greater Milwaukee Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, said, "This appears to be just the latest example of how this administration seeks to silence opposition and intimidate those who speak and act differently."

Ahmad, one of Sarsour's attorneys, said, "He is ready to fight tooth and nail to make sure that he's not drug through the mud." Ahmad added, "He wants to stay in this country."