Judge Blocks Immediate Deportation of Family of Colorado Terror Suspect
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump Administration from deporting the family of the Egyptian man suspected in the Boulder, Colorado terror attack.
Mohamed Soliman’s wife and five children were taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents with the administration saying they were going to be deported immediately.
However, Judge Gordon Gallagher wrote “The Court finds that deportation without process could work irreparable harm and an order must issue without notice due to the urgency this situation presents.”
Soliman was arrested for throwing two molotov cocktails into a pro-Israel rally over the weekend. Soliman allegedly yelled “Free Palestine” as he threw the devices into the group, injuring about ten people. He insists his family did not know about the plot, although the investigation is ongoing.
“We are investigating to what extent his family knew about this heinous attack, if they had knowledge of it, or if they provided support to it,” said Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem.
Entering in August 2022
According to DHS, the Soliman family entered the U.S. in August 2022 and was allowed to stay through February 2023. Soliman applied for asylum in September 2022 and listed his family as dependents.
Attorneys for the Soliman family say that Soliman’s wife, Hayam El Gamal, should be allowed to stay in Colorado given that she is a “network engineer with a pending EB-2 visa, available to professionals with advanced degrees.” They also noted the family should be ineligible for expedited deportation given that they’ve been in the U.S. for three years.
But DHS strongly disagrees. “Just like her criminal husband, she and her children are here illegally and are rightfully in ICE custody for removal as a result,” said DHS Spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.
The family is being held at a detention center in Dilley, Texas, for families facing deportation. The wife and the five children are together.
Soliman meanwhile is being held in Colorado. He faces federal hate crime charges and state charges. More charges are possible in federal court.