Copyright truthout
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) taunted the wife of a British journalist who is being detained by immigration agents on social media on Wednesday, after she publicly urged her husband’s release and warned that he was suffering a health emergency in custody. U.K. journalist Sami Hamdi, a 35-year-old father of three and outspoken critic of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, was residing in the U.S. on a travel visa when he was abducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at San Francisco International Airport on October 26. His wife, Soumaya Hamdi, only found out he was being detained after a friend sent her a text message about DHS bragging about the abduction on social media. In an interview with The Independent published Monday, Soumaya Hamdi said she was deeply concerned about her husband’s health and the conditions he was being subjected to in detention. “He called me on Saturday and I could barely hear him on the phone,” she told the publication. “He was clearly struggling to speak properly and he said: ‘Soumaya, I’m in a lot of pain. I’ve been asking for hours to see a doctor. They haven’t brought me one. I need you to help me find a way to help me see a doctor.’” After calls to the British consulate and pressure from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which is providing the family legal representation, Sam Hamdi was finally examined and told he may have a severe case of gastroenteritis. In addition to that ailment, the journalist is living in a “very overcrowded” space, sharing a room with around 80 to 90 people, Soumaya Hamdi said. Earlier this week, Soumaya Hamdi wrote an op-ed for USA Today, demanding her husband’s release and condemning DHS and ICE for violating his speech rights. Wrote Soumaya Hamdi: Sami was on a routine speaking tour in the United States when he was arrested — after a far-right social media influencer pressured the Trump administration to revoke his visa. Days later, in an act as unconscionable as it was surreal, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed on social media, of all places, that it had answered the call, as though this were a perfectly ordinary course of action. “Why are they keeping him against his will? Why are American taxpayers funding Sami’s arbitrary detention when they could be used to support American citizens instead — at a time when the American government has been shut down and millions of children risk going hungry by losing their food aid?” she went on, stating that Sami Hamdi’s “abduction by ICE is not merely an immigration issue; it is about silencing political dissent to create a chilling effect.” Soumaya Hamdi concluded her op-ed by asking the U.S. government to release her husband “immediately,” and to “reaffirm that America’s strength lies in defending freedom of speech, not silencing it.” In response, the official account for DHS shared a screenshot of her op-ed on X, baselessly accusing Sami of being a “terrorist sympathizer” for his opposition to Israel’s genocide and saying that the U.S. had “no obligation” to host individuals “who support terrorism and actively undermine the safety of Americans.” “[DHS Sec. Kristi Noem] has made it clear that anyone who thinks they can come to America and hide behind the First Amendment to advocate for anti-American and anti-Semitic violence and terrorism — think again,” the account added. DHS has not provided any evidence for their allegations, and Hamdi has not been formally charged with any crime. His detention comes as the Trump administration is cracking down on anyone who voices opposition to Israel’s genocide; among the people detained have been Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk, who was arrested and faced deportation for writing an op-ed in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, and former student Mahmoud Khalil, who was detained and nearly deported for leading protests at Columbia University.
