British journalist Sami Hamdi's attorney discusses his detention and release from ICE in US

After nearly three weeks in detention in California, British Muslim journalist Sami Hamdi is set to return to the UK, though it remains unclear why he was detained in the first place, given his nationality (which would allow him a direct flight home) and his constitutional right to free speech.

Hamdi was detained as he was about to board a flight from San Francisco to Tampa, Florida, where he had planned to give a talk as part of a speaking tour about Israel's war on Gaza. He says that, once detained, he asked to be returned home to the UK. This contradicts recent news headlines that said he had agreed to return to the UK after nearly three weeks, a move his attorneys say he had requested from the outset.

Instead, he was brought to the Golden State Annexe, a detention facility in McFarland, in a rural area of central California, a drive of around six hours from San Francisco and around three hours from Orange County, where he has had legal representation from the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"When they arrested him at the airport, they said his visa was revoked. He asked to leave the country, and they said no. It was the 26th, and they said his visa was revoked on the 24th and that he was charged with an overstay. I'm not sure why they didn't let him depart from the airport," Amina Fields, an attorney with CAIR in southern California, told The New Arab.

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the government had revoked his visa, saying that he had supported terrorism and had worked to "undermine American national security." She seemed to be referring to comments he made about Israel following the outbreak of its war on Gaza, which he later tried to clarify as in support of Palestinian civilians.

Once his attorneys began representing him in his case, they advised him not to sign anything without their review out of concern for his status and freedom of movement.

"There was a risk they’d have him agree to a deportation order that would have consequences," said Fields, who wanted to ensure he maintained his full rights before departing the US. "We wanted to make sure he wasn't ordered removed. He didn't agree to sign anything."

From her visits to the Golden State Annexe, Fields describes it as a typical detention centre, located in a rural area and providing basic services. It is a former state prison repurposed as a facility for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, run by Geo Group, which also runs the facility where Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was held in Louisiana.

Once Hamdi was detained, one of their top priorities was to ensure that he wasn’t transferred to a facility in another state, over concerns that this would isolate him further from his counsel and that conditions in other states were more difficult. They filed for a Writ of Habeas Corpus to keep him in the state.

"It was quite a distance to drive for us. But it was better than flying out of state to talk to him. We had limited time slots to talk with him," said Fields.

Hamdi described his food in detention as horrible. During his time there, he reported a stomach illness. It is unclear if this was related to the quality of his food. Fields, who often travels for such cases, said it’s not uncommon for people to have trouble adapting to the food.

Immigration detention cases and funding for ICE have increased sharply under the current administration of Donald Trump, a hallmark of his presidential campaign.