Deportation lawsuit involving Boulder suspect's family dismissed
July 3 (UPI) -- A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the family of the man accused of attacking a group of Jewish demonstrators in Colorado last month, ruling that despite confusion caused by the Trump administration, they are receiving their full rights under immigration law and their deportation proceedings are not being expedited.
Hayam El Gamal and her five children were detained by federal immigration agents on June 3, days after her husband, 45-year-old Egyptian national Mohamed Sabry Soliman, allegedly wounded more than a dozen people attending a weekly Boulder, Colo., event in support of Jewish hostages held by Hamas using a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails.
One of the wounded, 82-year-old Karen Diamond, died of her injuries, prosecutors announced Monday.
The family has been fighting deportation since their detention, believing their removal process was being expedited, which is not permitted under the Immigration and Nationality Act, as they have been in the country for more than two years.
They received temporary restraining orders preventing their removal as the judge reviewed the case.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia dismissed their lawsuit without prejudice, finding that despite the confusion over whether their deportation was being expedited, they were, in fact, placed into ordinary removal proceedings and would appear before an immigration judge where they could seek protection from removal.
"Accordingly, to the extent that petitioners seek to enjoin their removal on an expedited basis, this request is moot," Garcia said in her ruling. "And to the extent that petitioners seek to enjoin their being subjected to ordinary, or 'full,' removal proceedings, such relief is not available to them."
The confusion over their removal proceedings arose from Trump administration statements published the day they were detained.
The White House posted a statement to X claiming that "six one-way tickets for Mohamed's Wife and five kids" had been arranged and that "final boarding call coming soon." The tweet ended with an emoji of an airplane.
A second tweet from the White House said "THEY COULD BE DEPORTED AS EARLY AS TONIGHT."
The statements prompted the family to file a lawsuit seeking to halt their expedited removal.
Garcia highlighted the confusion caused by the White House messaging in her ruling, but said the government has since clarified that this is not the case.
"The court hastens to remind petitioners that they still have an avenue for seeking their release from detention while their removal proceedings continue," said Garcia, a President Bill Clinton appointee.
The Department of Homeland Security celebrated the ruling without acknowledging the confusion caused by the White House's messaging.
"This is a proper end to an absurd legal effort on the plaintiff's part," Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin at the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
"Just like her terrorist husband, she and her children are here illegally and are rightfully in ICE custody for removal as a result."
DHS has previously argued that the Soliman family is in the United States illegally.
According to an earlier statement from DHS, Soliman, his wife and their five children first came to the United States on Aug. 27, 2022, and filed for asylum about a month later. They were granted entry until Feb. 26, 2023, and had apparently overstayed their visas since.
Soliman has pleaded not guilty to 12 federal hate crime counts.
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