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The Guardian World1 min read
Family under longest immigration detention of Trump’s term released
TL;DR
A woman and her five children have been released from immigration detention after over 10 months, the longest family detention during Trump's second term. Their release followed a judge's order in Texas.
Key points
- Family detained for over 10 months under Trump's administration
- Released following a judge's order in Texas
- Detention occurred at the Dilley detention center
Mentioned in this story
Hayam El GamalHabiba SolimanMohamed Sabry SolimanTexasColorado
Dilley detention center
A woman and her five children, whose immigration detention of more than 10 months marked the longest family detention under Donald Trump’s second administration, were released on Thursday hours after a judge’s order, their lawyer said.
US district judge Fred Biery of the western district of Texas ordered the family’s release.
Hayam El Gamal and her five children ages five to 18 were taken into federal custody last June after last year’s firebomb attack in Boulder, Colorado, over which her ex-husband, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was charged. An 82-year-old woman who was injured in that attack later died.
“The El Gamal family is free,” Eric Lee, a lawyer for the family detained in Texas, said in a statement.
El Gamal and Habiba Soliman, 18, the eldest child, will have to wear ankle monitors. The family had been detained at the highly controversial Dilley detention center in a remote part of Texas south-west of San Antonio.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), of which the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency is a part, criticized the ruling that ordered the family’s release, saying it came from an “activist judge” who was “releasing this terrorist’s family onto American streets”.
Soliman was arrested over the attack on a gathering that commemorated Israeli hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza after the 7 October 2023 attack. El Gamal divorced Soliman after his arrest, NBC News reported. She also condemned the attack.
The family’s legal team said they had no advance knowledge of the suspect’s plans and that the family was detained unlawfully. The government said federal agents were investigating “to what extent” the family knew about the attack.
Q&A
Why was the El Gamal family detained for so long?
The El Gamal family was detained for over 10 months following a firebomb attack in Boulder, Colorado, related to the mother's ex-husband.
Who ordered the release of the El Gamal family?
US district judge Fred Biery of the western district of Texas ordered the release of the El Gamal family.
What are the conditions for the El Gamal family's release?
Upon release, Hayam El Gamal and her eldest child, Habiba Soliman, are required to wear ankle monitors.
