Latest news with #EgyptianNational
The Independent
4 days ago
- The Independent
Man charged with hate crime in Boulder attack on 'Zionist people' to appear in federal court
A man who told investigators he was driven by a desire 'to kill all Zionist people' when he threw Molotov cocktails at demonstrators raising awareness of Israeli hostages is set to make his first appearance in federal court on Friday to face a hate crime charge. Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, is accused in Sunday's attack on the weekly event in Boulder, which investigators say he planned for a year. The federal case is being adjudicated in Denver, but Soliman was also charged in state court in Boulder Thursday with attempted murder and assault counts as well as counts related to the 18 Molotov cocktails police say he carried to the demonstration. Federal authorities say Soliman, an Egyptian national, has been living in the U.S. illegally. Soliman is represented by state and federal public defenders, who do not comment on their cases to the media. Investigators say Soliman told them he had intended to kill all of the roughly 20 participants at the weekly demonstration on Boulder's popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall, but he threw just two of his 18 Molotov cocktails while yelling 'Free Palestine.' Soliman told investigators he tried to buy a gun but was not able to because he was not a 'legal citizen.' Soliman did not carry out his full plan 'because he got scared and had never hurt anyone before,' police wrote in an arrest affidavit. State prosecutors say 15 people and a dog were victims of the attack. Not all were physically injured, and some are considered victims for the legal case because they were in the area and could potentially have been hurt, 20th Judicial District Michael Dougherty said Thursday. The dog was among the injured, which resulted in an animal cruelty charge being filed against Soliman, Dougherty said. Soliman told investigators that he waited until after his daughter graduated from school before launching the attack, according to court documents. Federal authorities want to deport Soliman's wife and their five children, who range from 4 to 17 years old, but a judge issued an emergency order Wednesday halting deportation proceedings until a lawsuit challenging their deportation can be considered. U.S. immigration officials took Soliman's wife and children into custody on Tuesday. They are being held at a family immigration detention center in Texas.
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Associated Press
Man charged with hate crime in Boulder attack on 'Zionist people' to appear in federal court
DENVER (AP) — A man who told investigators he was driven by a desire 'to kill all Zionist people' when he threw Molotov cocktails at demonstrators raising awareness of Israeli hostages is set to make his first appearance in federal court on Friday to face a hate crime charge. Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, is accused in Sunday's attack on the weekly event in Boulder, which investigators say he planned for a year. The federal case is being adjudicated in Denver, but Soliman was also charged in state court in Boulder Thursday with attempted murder and assault counts as well as counts related to the 18 Molotov cocktails police say he carried to the demonstration. Federal authorities say Soliman, an Egyptian national, has been living in the U.S. illegally. Soliman is represented by state and federal public defenders, who do not comment on their cases to the media. Investigators say Soliman told them he had intended to kill all of the roughly 20 participants at the weekly demonstration on Boulder's popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall, but he threw just two of his 18 Molotov cocktails while yelling 'Free Palestine.' Soliman told investigators he tried to buy a gun but was not able to because he was not a 'legal citizen.' Soliman did not carry out his full plan 'because he got scared and had never hurt anyone before,' police wrote in an arrest affidavit. State prosecutors say 15 people and a dog were victims of the attack. Not all were physically injured, and some are considered victims for the legal case because they were in the area and could potentially have been hurt, 20th Judicial District Michael Dougherty said Thursday. The dog was among the injured, which resulted in an animal cruelty charge being filed against Soliman, Dougherty said. Soliman told investigators that he waited until after his daughter graduated from school before launching the attack, according to court documents. Federal authorities want to deport Soliman's wife and their five children, who range from 4 to 17 years old, but a judge issued an emergency order Wednesday halting deportation proceedings until a lawsuit challenging their deportation can be considered. U.S. immigration officials took Soliman's wife and children into custody on Tuesday. They are being held at a family immigration detention center in Texas.
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
What is Trump's new travel ban, and which countries are affected?
Nearly five months into his second term, Donald Trump has announced a new sweeping travel ban that could reshape the US borders more dramatically than any policy in modern memory. The restrictions, revealed through a presidential proclamation on Wednesday, would target citizens from more than a dozen countries – creating a three-tiered system of escalating barriers to entry. The proclamation represents one of the most ambitious attempts to reshape the US's approach to global mobility in modern history and potentially affects millions of people coming to the United States for relocation, travel, work or school. What is a travel ban? A travel ban restricts or prohibits citizens of specific countries from entering the United States. These restrictions can range from complete visa suspensions to specific limitations on certain visa categories. READ MORE Trump's day one executive order required the state department to identify countries 'for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries'. His travel ban proclamation referenced the previous executive order, as well as the recent attack by an Egyptian national in Boulder, Colorado, upon a group of people demonstrating for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. [ Trump signs ban on citizens entering the US from 12 countries, including Iran, Haiti and Afghanistan Opens in new window ] What is a presidential proclamation? A presidential proclamation is a decree that is often ceremonial or can have legal implications when it comes to national emergencies. Unlike an executive order, which is a directive to heads of agencies in the administration, the proclamation primarily signals a broad change in policy. Which countries are listed in the travel ban? The following countries were identified for total bans of any nationals seeking to travel to the US for immigrant or non-immigrant reasons: Afghanistan Myanmar Chad Republic of the Congo Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Haiti Iran Libya Somalia Sudan Yemen He's also partially restricting the travel of people from Burundi Cuba Laos Sierra Leone Togo Turkmenistan Venezuela Why were these countries chosen? The proclamation broadly cites national security issues for including the countries, but specifies a few different issues that reach the level of concern for the travel ban. For some countries, such as Afghanistan, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Libya and Venezuela, the proclamation claims that there is no reliable central authority for issuing passports or screening and vetting nationals travelling out of the country. For other countries, such as Myanmar, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Burundi, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo and Turkmenistan, the proclamation cites a high rate of immigrants overstaying their visas in the US. Finally, there are several countries that are included because of terrorist activity or state- sponsored terrorism, including Iran, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia and Cuba. How does this travel ban differ from the one in 2017? The 2017 ban initially targeted seven predominantly Muslim countries before expanding to include North Korea and Venezuela. This new proclamation is broader and also makes the notable addition of Haiti. During his 2024 campaign for the presidency, Trump amplified false claims made by his running mate, JD Vance, that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were 'eating the pets of the people that live there'. The proclamation falsely claims that 'hundreds of thousands of illegal Haitian aliens flooded into the United States during the Biden administration' and this 'influx harms American communities'. In fact, about 200,000 Haitians were granted temporary protected status, which gives legal residency permits to foreign nationals who are unable to return home safely due to conditions in their home countries. Also notable are the restrictions on Afghans, given that many of the Afghans approved to live in the US as refugees were forced to flee their home country as a result of working to support US troops there, before the full withdrawal of US forces in 2021.0 The agreement with the Taliban to withdraw US troops was negotiated by Trump during his first term. Last month, homeland security secretary Kristi Noem announced 'the termination of temporary protected status for Afghanistan', effective May 20th. – Guardian
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
What is Trump's new travel ban, and which countries are affected?
Six months into his second term, Donald Trump has announced a new sweeping travel ban that could reshape the US's borders more dramatically than any policy in modern memory. The proposed restrictions, revealed through a presidential proclamation on Wednesday, would target citizens from more than a dozen countries – creating a three-tiered system of escalating barriers to entry. The proposal represents one of the most ambitious attempts to reshape the US's approach to global mobility in modern history and potentially affects millions of people coming to the United States for relocation, travel, work or school. A travel ban restricts or prohibits citizens of specific countries from entering the United States. These restrictions can range from complete visa suspensions to specific limitations on certain visa categories. Trump's day one executive order required the state department to identify countries 'for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries'. His travel ban proclamation referenced the previous executive order, as well as the recent attack by an Egyptian national in Boulder, Colorado, upon a group of people demonstrating for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. A presidential proclamation is a decree that is often ceremonial or can have legal implications when it comes to national emergencies. Unlike an executive order, which is a directive to heads of agencies in the administration, the proclamation primarily signals a broad change in policy. The following countries were identified for total bans of any nationals seeking to travel to the US for immigrant or non-immigrant reasons: Afghanistan Burma Chad Republic of the Congo Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Haiti Iran Libya Somalia Sudan Yemen He's also partially restricting the travel of people from: Burundi Cuba Laos Sierra Leone Togo Turkmenistan Venezuela The proclamation broadly cites national security issues for including the countries, but specifies a few different issues that reach the level of concern for the travel ban. For some countries, such as Afghanistan, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Libya and Venezuela, the proclamation claims that there is no reliable central authority for issuing passports or screening and vetting nationals traveling out of the country. For other countries, such as Burma, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Burundi, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo and Turkmenistan, the proclamation cites a high rate of immigrants overstaying their visas in the US. Finally, there are several countries that are included because of terrorist activity or state- sponsored terrorism, including Iran, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Iran and Cuba. The 2017 ban initially targeted seven predominantly Muslim countries before expanding to include North Korea and Venezuela. This new proposal is broader and also makes the notable addition of Haiti. During his 2024 campaign for the presidency, Trump amplified false claims made by his running mate, JD Vance, that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were 'eating the pets of the people that live there'. The proclamation falsely claims that 'hundreds of thousands of illegal Haitian aliens flooded into the United States during the Biden administration' and this 'influx harms American communities'. In fact, about 200,000 Haitians were granted temporary protected status, which gives legal residency permits to foreign nationals who are unable to return home safely due to conditions in their home countries. Also notable are the restrictions on Afghans, given that many of the Afghans approved to live in the US as refugees were forced to flee their home country as a result of working to support US troops there, before the full withdrawal of US forces in 2021. The agreement with the Taliban to withdraw US troops was negotiated by Trump during his first term. Last month, homeland security secretary Kristi Noem announced 'the termination of temporary protected status for Afghanistan', effective 20 May. The draft proposal leaves crucial questions unanswered about existing visa holders, and sets a concerning precedent following recent actions to kick out residents or bar others from re-entering the country. The administration is attempting to revoke the green card of a Syrian-born Palestinian student with Algerian citizenship, Mahmoud Khalil, over his role in Columbia University's campus protests, arguing that his free-speech stances are a threat to US foreign policy. A Brown University doctor on an H-1B visa was not allowed to re-enter the United States after attending the former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's funeral in Lebanon, and a postdoctoral researcher at Georgetown on a student visa was detained in the middle of the night in Arlington, Virginia, possibly over suspicion that he and his wife – a US citizen – oppose US foreign policy on Israel. For employers, the ban threatens significant workforce disruptions across tech, healthcare and education sectors, potentially making companies unable to hire from red-listed countries and causing delays from orange-listed nations. The impact could be particularly severe for international Stem talent, medical professionals and academic recruitment. The education and health industries alone employ about 5.5 million foreign-born workers.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Family of suspect in Colorado attack held in immigration custody
US immigration authorities have taken the wife and five children of a man suspected of attacking a Jewish demonstration in Colorado into custody for possible expedited deportation, the White House said on Tuesday. Authorities are investigating whether the suspect's family had prior knowledge of the attack or supported it in any way, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on X. Twelve people were injured on Sunday when a man threw Molotov cocktails at a group of pro-Israel demonstrators in the city of Boulder. Police arrested a 45-year-old Egyptian national at the scene, who according to officials was in the United States illegally. His family's immigration status remains unclear. The White House said on X the family could be deported "as early as tonight." According to police, the attacker targeted a group of around 20 demonstrators rallying for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Investigators said the man had planned the assault well in advance and showed no remorse. US media reported that the suspect told police after his arrest that he had not informed anyone of his plans. If convicted, he faces a possible life sentence, according to US law enforcement officials.
