A federal judge in San Antonio has authorized the release of a woman and her five children from immigration detention, despite their connection to a man accused of carrying out a deadly firebombing in Colorado.
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery ruled Thursday that Hayam El Gamal and her children can leave the family detention facility in Dilley, Texas, under specific conditions. El Gamal and her 18-year-old child must submit to electronic monitoring as part of their release. The judge rejected government attorneys’ attempts to halt his decision pending an appeal.
El Gamal, who was born in Saudi Arabia and holds Egyptian citizenship, has been detained with her family since June. Her husband, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, faces accusations of hurling two Molotov cocktails at demonstrators who were rallying for awareness about Israeli hostages held in Gaza. The attack resulted in injuries to 13 people, including an 82-year-old woman who later succumbed to her injuries. El Gamal has expressed shock over her husband’s alleged actions.
Federal officials say Soliman, also an Egyptian citizen, was residing in the United States without legal status. He faces prosecution in both state and federal courts for the attack. Prosecutors allege he spent a year planning the assault and was motivated by a desire “to kill all Zionist people.” Soliman has entered not guilty pleas to state charges, including murder, as well as federal hate crime allegations.
Following the attack, the Trump administration announced plans for the family’s rapid deportation. White House social media statements declared they “COULD BE DEPORTED AS EARLY AS TONIGHT” and revealed that six one-way tickets had been purchased, with their “final boarding call coming soon.”
Judge Biery’s release order came despite an immigration appeals court rejecting the family’s request to remain in the country and issuing deportation orders. This decision followed a federal magistrate judge’s Monday recommendation that the family should be freed from detention.
Defense attorneys contend the deportation directive came from “political leadership” in Washington, an allegation that government lawyer Anne Marie Cordova disputed. Individuals with final deportation orders typically face mandatory detention.
Biery had previously prevented the family’s deportation until Thursday’s hearing could take place. Family attorney Chris Godshall-Bennett informed the judge they plan to petition the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to halt deportation proceedings while pursuing asylum and permanent residency status.
Another federal judge had initially blocked the family’s immediate removal following the attack. Since that time, the family has made multiple attempts to secure bond release and return to Colorado while their asylum petition moves through the system.
The magistrate judge’s recommendation for release this week followed defense arguments that the family had not received fair treatment during immigration proceedings.
