Sami Hamdi’s ICE Arrest Reveals the Islamophobia Industry Feeds False Information to Government Agencies

Washington, D.C. | www.mpac.org | October 28, 2025 — The arrest of Sami Hamdi, London-based activist and political commentator, who was detained on Sunday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the midst of his U.S. speaking tour at San Francisco International Airport, is deeply troubling. Hamdi’s detention, on the basis that he is “promoting terrorism”, represents a dangerous and growing trend of Islamophobes feeding law enforcement agencies false and doctored information to curtail First Amendment rights and political views.

Hamdi has consistently been outspoken on the ongoing genocide and critical of the Israeli government while attending several speaking events where he openly discusses Palestine. 

According to online discourse, the arrest followed pressure from Amy Mek, founder and editor-in-chief of the RAIR Foundation, and Laura Loomer, an extreme right-wing political activist and conspiracy theorist. Mek openly advocated for Hamdi’s arrest declaring him a national security threat and alleging that he is “training U.S. Muslims in digital agitation, electoral sabotage, and political warfare in alignment with Muslim Brotherhood doctrine.”

Hamdi’s visa was revoked and he is currently being held in ICE custody pending removal from the country. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Tricia McLaughlin posted on X, that Hamdi “supports terrorism and undermines national security” quoting information from Amy Mek’s problematic investigation. 

Time and time again, we’re seeing external actors and self-proclaimed watchdogs for the Trump Administration such as Laura Loomer and Amy Mek deliberately create islamophobic interpretations of ongoing events and advising federal agencies and in worst cases, the President directly. 

MPAC condemns the arrest of Sami Hamdi, as it directly goes against the constitutional right to free speech, even for foreign nationals (Judge Ruling). MPAC will continue to closely monitor ongoing developments regarding the arrest and other individuals detained by the administration which is creating an atmosphere of intimidation to discourage the public, particularly those of a Muslim background, from expressing any sort of criticism of the Israeli government.

This sets the precedent not only for visa holders, but for all Americans.