(This April 25 story has been repeated without any changes to the text)
A Colorado family that had been held in immigration detention for over 10 months was taken back into federal custody on Saturday for several hours, according to the family's legal team, despite a federal judge ordering their release less than 48 hours earlier.
Hayam El Gamal and her five children, ages 5 through 18, were detained while complying with a requirement to report to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Denver, the family’s attorneys said. The legal team reported that ICE placed the family on a plane that was scheduled to travel first to Michigan and then to an international destination that was not disclosed.
The family’s lawyer, Eric Lee, said that a federal court granted an emergency motion to prevent the planned deportation and that the family was released early on Sunday. Lee posted that "ICE just released the El Gamal family," and argued that their detention violated the prior court orders.
In a Saturday statement, the Department of Homeland Security said the family was receiving "full due process" and characterized the judge who ordered their release as an "activist judge" who was "releasing this terrorist’s family onto American streets AGAIN." The DHS acting assistant secretary, Lauren Bis, said the department was confident the courts would ultimately vindicate the agency. The statement did not explain why the family was detained on Saturday despite the court ruling issued on Thursday.
El Gamal and her children were freed from their earlier detention on Thursday after U.S. District Judge Fred Biery ordered their release, following a separate but similar ruling earlier in the week. The family was first taken into federal custody last June.
Their detention is the longest recorded under President Donald Trump’s administration for a family, attorneys said. The initial detention began after El Gamal’s ex-husband, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was charged with attempted murder, assault and a federal hate crime in connection with a firebomb attack in Boulder, Colorado, last year.
U.S. government authorities have previously stated they were investigating how much the family may have known about the attack. El Gamal, who divorced Soliman following his arrest, has publicly condemned the Boulder attack and maintained that the family had no knowledge of any plans related to it.
The broader national debate over immigration enforcement was reflected in comments referenced by the case. President Donald Trump has defended an aggressive immigration enforcement approach as a measure to curb illegal immigration and reduce crime, while critics and civil rights organizations have argued that the Department of Homeland Security’s campaign infringes on due process and free speech.
Legal and procedural developments
- The family was detained again while following ICE's check-in requirement at the Denver office.
- ICE moved to board the family onto a plane destined for Michigan and then an unspecified overseas location, according to the family's legal team.
- A federal court granted an emergency motion stopping the planned deportation and the family was released afterward.
Context and outstanding questions
The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement defending its actions and criticizing the judge who ordered the family's release, but did not address why the family was detained after the court's ruling. The family’s detention history, the criminal charges against El Gamal’s ex-husband, and ongoing investigations into the family's potential knowledge of the attack in Boulder remain part of the official record surrounding the case.