An Egyptian family of six has been taken back into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, just days after they were released from a detention facility in Texas on Thursday, according to their attorney Eric Lee.
Emergency Motion Filed to Block Deportation
Lee stated on Saturday morning that Hayam El Gamal and her five children were on a private jet in Denver bound for Egypt due to an alleged court order violation. “This is a very live situation – an absolutely brazen violation of separation of powers,” Lee said.
On Saturday, the family’s attorneys filed an emergency motion to block the deportation. US District Judge Fred Biery of the Western District of Texas, who had ordered the family’s release earlier in the week, granted the motion. It remains unclear what specific court order the family was accused of violating. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security could not be immediately reached for comment.
Background of the Case
In June 2025, El Gamal was arrested in connection with her then-husband, Mohamed Sabry Soliman. Federal authorities allege that Soliman threw Molotov cocktails into a crowd at an event drawing awareness to hostages in Gaza. The firebombing attack injured more than a dozen people, including an 82-year-old woman who later died from her wounds. Soliman is facing attempted murder charges in addition to federal hate crimes.
The El Gamal family’s case has drawn national attention. They had been detained at the much-criticized Dilley detention center for 10 months, a term believed to be the longest of any family during Donald Trump’s second administration. Dilley, a facility in a remote part of Texas near San Antonio, has been scrutinized following reports of inadequate medical care and rotting or bug-infested food.
Allegations of Mistreatment
Prior to the family’s release, El Gamal’s legal team released a statement alleging that the facility denied her and her children proper medical attention. In one medical episode, El Gamal experienced “excruciating pain,” but an ER doctor’s recommendation for an ultrasound was denied. The lawyers also claimed that her five-year-old child was unable to see a dentist to address 13 cavities, and when her 16-year-old son had acute appendicitis, he was instructed to take Tylenol as a remedy. ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the alleged mistreatment.
Official Statements
In July 2025, when a federal court dismissed a lawsuit to release the family, then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem hailed the ruling. “Just like her terrorist husband, she and her children are here illegally and are rightfully in ICE custody for removal as a result,” Noem said. “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.” After the arrest, El Gamal filed for divorce from Soliman. The pair arrived in the US with their five children in August 2022, according to the Department of Homeland Security, and later that year they sought asylum.
