A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the deportation of the wife and five children of an Egyptian man accused of a firebombing attack in Boulder, Colorado, on Sunday.
U.S. District Judge Gordon P. Gallagher granted the family’s request to pause deportation proceedings after immigration officials took them into federal custody on Tuesday.
“The court finds that deportation without process could work irreparable harm,” Gallagher wrote, “and an order must issue without notice due to the urgency this situation presents.”
Mohamed Sabry Soliman faces federal hate crime and state attempted murder charges related to the incident, which used Molotov cocktails and targeted a solidarity walk for Israeli hostages taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, injuring 15 people and a dog.
Soliman, a 45-year-old Egyptian national, arrived in the United States in 2022. His tourist visa and work authorization both expired in 2023, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.
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Soliman’s family members, who have not been charged, were being processed for removal proceedings on Wednesday, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. They comprise Soliman’s wife, his 18-year-old daughter, and his two sons and daughters, who are all minors. All are Egyptian citizens, DHS said.
Noem said in a video post on Tuesday that “we are investigating to what extent his family knew about this heinous attack, if they had knowledge of it, or if they provided support to it,” adding, “I am continuing to pray for the victims of this attack and their families. Justice will be served.”