Federal immigration authorities re-arrested an Egyptian mother and her five children on Saturday, just two days after a court mandated their release from more than 10 months in detention, according to the family’s attorneys.
Hayam El Gamal and her children, ranging in age from 5 to 18, were taken back into custody while fulfilling a mandatory check-in requirement at a Denver Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, as reported by The Colorado Sun.
According to the family’s legal representatives, ICE placed them aboard an aircraft bound for Michigan “and then outside the United States to an unknown location.” However, attorney Eric Lee confirmed that a federal court approved an emergency petition that halted the deportation proceedings.
The Department of Homeland Security issued a Saturday statement defending the detention, claiming the family was receiving “full due process” while criticizing the judge who mandated their release as an “activist judge” who is “releasing this terrorist’s family onto American streets AGAIN.”
“We are confident the courts will ultimately vindicate us,” stated Lauren Bis, the DHS acting assistant secretary.
The department’s statement did not explain the reasoning behind Saturday’s detention following Thursday’s court decision.
El Gamal and her children had been freed on Thursday when U.S. District Judge Fred Biery mandated their release, following a comparable ruling issued earlier that week.
The Colorado-based family was initially placed in federal custody last June. Their immigration detention became the lengthiest family detention under President Donald Trump’s administration, beginning after El Gamal’s former husband, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, faced charges of attempted murder, assault, and federal hate crimes related to a firebomb incident in Boulder, Colorado last year.
Federal officials have stated they were examining the family’s potential knowledge of the attack. El Gamal, who ended her marriage to Soliman following his arrest, has denounced the Boulder incident and maintained that her family was unaware of any attack preparations.
Trump has justified his immigration enforcement policies as essential for controlling illegal immigration and reducing criminal activity. However, advocacy organizations and critics argue that the DHS initiatives infringe upon due process rights and freedom of expression.
