Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the suspect in the Sunday attack on eight people in Boulder, Colorado, is an illegal immigrant who entered the United States during the Biden administration and failed to depart when his visa expired, according to a Trump administration official.
Boulder police on Sunday identified Soliman, 45, as a resident of El Paso County, Colorado. On Monday, administration officials confirmed that he lacked immigration status to be in the U.S.
“The Colorado Terrorist attack suspect, Mohamed Soliman, is illegally in our country,” Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin wrote in a post to X Monday morning. “He entered the country in August 2022 on a B2 visa that expired on February 2023. He filed for asylum in September 2022.”
Soliman would have entered the U.S. on a B2, nonimmigrant visa, meaning he was approved to stay in the country temporarily.
The Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the White House did not respond to requests regarding Soliman’s country of origin. However, Soliman is reported to be an Egyptian national.
White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller said Soliman had “illegally overstayed” a tourist visa.
One month after arriving, Soliman reportedly filed an unspecified claim in September 2022 seeking documents to legally work and was granted them in March 2023, according to CNN. His work permit lasted two years.
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Soliman was also said to have attempted to enter the U.S. in 2025 but was denied.
Soliman was immediately detained by local police and has been charged with multiple felonies for allegedly using a flamethrower to set people on fire in what is being investigated as a terrorist attack. He is due in court later Monday.