MILWAUKEE — Kareem Sarsour says his father, Salah Sarsour, has lost roughly 30 pounds and been denied daily blood sugar checks during more than 60 days in federal detention.
The son of the president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee says his father's health is being neglected while he remains in ICE custody at a federal detention facility in Indiana.
Salah Sarsour was detained by ICE in Milwaukee 63 days ago. He is accused of lying on his green card application in 1998. His case is set to go before a judge later this month.
His son, Kareem Sarsour, spoke Thursday about concerns over his father's medical care and possible religious discrimination.
"He suffers every day that he is in that detention center."
Kareem said his father is nearly 54 years old and diabetic, and that facility staff have denied his doctor's request for daily blood sugar checks.
"He needed his blood sugar level checked on a daily basis, as his doctor prescribed and sent to them in a letter, telling them that he does need his sugar levels checked on a daily basis. It was denied. They told him he can only check it once a month."
Kareem said his father has also experienced severe abdominal pain.
"He reached the point where he couldn't stand up and he laid on the floor from how severe the stomach ache was."
Kareem said Salah has lost roughly 30 pounds since being taken into custody.
"That means he's losing almost one pound every two days. So, that's very alarming."
Kareem also described what he called religious discrimination, saying staff made an inappropriate dietary suggestion when the family raised concerns about Salah's health.
"When we asked them about his health condition, and that he needs to be put on a better dietary restriction, they said that he should buy pork rinds to improve his health condition. My dad is a muslim. That is a very bad thing to say to anyone who doesn't eat pork."
Kareem said he hopes sharing his father's story will inform the public about how Salah and other ICE detainees are being treated.
Sarsour's lawyers have filed a habeas corpus petition, arguing his detention was illegal and an attempt to silence his pro-Palestinian advocacy.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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