Freedom, on His Own Terms: Sami Hamdi Heads Home
The Fine Print | Notes from the Legal Director
November 10, 2025 | Marium Uddin, Legal Director
Between late last Wednesday and this morning, Sami was engaged in intense discussion with his legal team and family until he finally arrived at the decision to voluntarily depart the U.S. in lieu of pursuing other viable and favorable legal avenues.
This is a huge win for Sami. It allows him to leave the U.S. and return home to England to feel the warm embrace of his wonderful parents, wife and small children – those who have stood by him unflinchingly and unapologetically as they should.
This is a huge win for Sami. It cuts off weeks or months of prolonged detention in one of this country’s sprawling immigration prisons all for him to have to have fought his case in federal and immigration courts towards the exact same end.
This is a huge win for Sami. It allows Sami to return to this country without a removal order obstructing him, preserving his ability to seek future admission to the U.S.
This is a huge win for Sami because this is Sami’s choice for himself.
Alhamdulillah.
It does not mean it’s ideal and it does not mean it’s perfect, given what he was put through.
While the brass of this government was dog whistling, or perhaps just whistling in xenophobic tropes that trampled on first amendment rights and called Sami the notorious T word, none of those T word allegations ever made it onto paper in a courtroom. and, thus, the hollowness of what they tried to scare us with never materialized and was never real – or it was only as real as their own echo chamber allowed them to believe.
As argued in Sami’s reply brief to the government’s response to his federal habeas filing, “While [the Government] coyly questions Petitioner’s right to adjudicate his collateral constitutional claims in this Court, asserting that no claims have been made against Hamdi that he is subject to removal under terrorism related inadmissibility grounds or related provisions, [the Government] has been simultaneously posting on its official social media accounts that that is precisely what Hamdi’s detention is all about. Nowhere in the Government’s brief or in its supporting declaration will this Court find reference to Petitioner as a person who is a “terrorist sympathizer” or “actively undermine[s] the safety of Americans.” Yet vicious quotations suggesting the same were lifted from the DHS “X” account, posted just this morning, as the undersigned were drafting this Reply. Counsel for Petitioner can think of only one reason for the Government’s decision to propound two parallel narratives – one for this Court, and the other for the public. The Government revoked Hamdi’s visa and detained him. Shortly after, the Government (and agents close to the Government), celebrated his detention in public facing posts that left no doubt that his visa revocation and detention were intended to suppress his speech.”
It has been one of the greatest privileges of my career to be a small part of an exceptional legal team for Sami – one of mighty principle, commitment and conviction – and, so I need to thank Hassan Ahmad for his fierce dedication and extraordinary legal acumen, CAIR attorneys Zahra Billoo, Amina Fields and Layli Shirani, for their tirelessness and selflessness to perfecting the brilliant legal arguments that would shine a light on the darkest actions of our government during some of our darkest times against an innocent and courageous truth-teller.
To Sami and his family – thank you for allowing us to walk alongside you on a path you illuminated with the virtues of radical honesty, grit, grace, patience, and faith. We’ll see you soon – with frozen In-‘N-Out burgers in hand. Know that we’re coming for couscous and the basketball rematch.
The Fine Print | Real power and protection is always hidden in the fine print. MLFA brings the fine print to life with this series of articles, cutting through the noise to break down the rights, risks, and realities you need to know. No loopholes, no confusion, just clear, unapologetic insight into the laws that shape the lives of Muslims in America.
