A federal judge in Colorado ordered the U.S. government to stop deportation proceedings against the family of a Boulder terror suspect. The decision comes after the Trump administration announced Wednesday, June 4, it would intensify efforts to locate and act against visa overstays.
Law enforcement arrested Egyptian national Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, on Sunday, June 1. He is charged with a federal hate crime and several state counts of attempted murder. Soliman is accused of wounding 12 people in an antisemitic Molotov cocktail attack in downtown Boulder.
Deportation pause
The White House said Soliman’s wife and children had been detained and were in ICE custody for expedited removal. “They could be deported as early as tonight,” the White House posted to social media Tuesday, June 3.
However, in an order signed Wednesday, Judge Gordon P. Gallagher of the U.S. District Court in Colorado halted the family’s deportation.
“Defendants shall not remove,” Soliman’s wife and five children from either Colorado or the United States “unless or until this court or the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacates this order,” Gallagher wrote in his order.
Gallagher added, “Moreover, 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.”
The Trump administration announced Wednesday that federal immigration enforcement agencies are planning to more aggressively find and take action against people who are staying in the U.S. illegally after their visas expire.
Investigation includes family
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday that authorities would investigate whether Soliman’s family members knew about Soliman’s alleged plan to attack a pro-Israel crowd. According to the Associated Press, Soliman has told investigators that he planned the attack alone and his family knew nothing about it. Likewise, a lawsuit filed by Soliman’s wife, Hayam El Gamal, says she was “shocked” to learn about her husband’s actions.
Federal immigration authorities took Soliman’s wife and five children, all Egyptian nationals according to the Department of Homeland Security, into custody on Tuesday. Soliman and his family had been living in Colorado Springs. FBI agents searched their home on Monday morning, June 2.
Family not charged
Soliman’s wife and children have not been charged in Sunday’s Molotov cocktail attack.
The family entered the U.S. legally in August 2022 with permission to stay until February 2023, according to DHS. Soliman tried to stay longer by requesting asylum, the agency said.
