Federal Judges Halt Deportation of Boulder Terrorist's Family Mid-Flight
A deportation plane carrying the family of an anti-Semitic terrorist suspect reversed course mid-air over Lake Erie after two federal judges intervened, marking the second time in three days that courts blocked the lawful removal of the suspect's ex-wife and five children.
A deportation plane carrying the ex-wife and five children of an anti-Semitic terrorist suspect turned back mid-air over Lake Erie Saturday, the second time in three days that federal judges have blocked the family's lawful removal. Two emergency court orders forced Immigration and Customs Enforcement to abort the flight and return the family to Denver.
The El Gamal family carried a final order of removal entered Dec. 29, 2025. The Board of Immigration Appeals formally upheld that order April 22. Despite clearing every administrative hurdle in the immigration system, U.S. District Judges Fred Biery and Nina Wang issued separate emergency rulings Saturday that compelled ICE to reverse course.
The mid-flight reversal exposes a widening clash between executive immigration enforcement and federal courts that continue to override final removal orders even after due process has concluded.
ICE agents re-detained Hayam El Gamal and her five children, ages 5 to 18, on April 25. The timing came just two days after Judge Biery ordered their release from the Dilley, Texas detention center, where the family had spent 10 months. Officials placed the family on a flight from Willow Run Airport in Michigan to New Jersey. Then Biery and Wang intervened simultaneously, forcing the aircraft to turn around.
DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis responded with a statement criticizing the judicial intervention, though she incorrectly identified the appointing presidents of both judges. "Mohammed Soliman is a terrorist responsible for an anti-Semitic firebombing in Boulder," Bis stated. "Despite receiving full due process, this activist judge appointed by Bill Clinton is releasing this terrorist's family onto American streets AGAIN."
The factual record shows Wang received her appointment from President Joe Biden, while Biery was appointed by President Bill Clinton. The DHS statement did not address whether ICE's re-detention violated Biery's April 23 release order.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the family's former husband and father, faces two counts of first-degree murder, 28 counts of attempted murder, and federal hate crime charges. He carried out a June 2025 firebombing attack on a pro-Israel walk in Boulder that killed 82-year-old Karen Diamond. The family has not been charged with any crimes and maintains they knew nothing of Soliman's plans.
The family's legal team characterized the re-detention as extra-legal punishment. "THE EL GAMAL FAMILY WAS REDETAINED BY ICE MOMENTS AGO," attorney Eric Lee posted on X Saturday. Co-counsel Chris Godshall-Bennett told NPR the administration's attempt to deport the family goes beyond immigration law or visa overstays. "It's about collectively punishing this family for the actions of Mr. Soliman," Godshall-Bennett said.
Judge Wang issued a subsequent ruling Saturday barring the family's deportation without permission from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. The order extends a pattern of judicial interventions stretching back to June 2025, when a federal judge first temporarily blocked the family's removal shortly after Soliman's arrest.
The family entered the United States in 2022 on six-month tourist visas and applied for asylum before those visas expired. An immigration judge denied their asylum request and later denied bond, resulting in their 10-month detention at Dilley. They became the longest-held family at that facility. A magistrate judge recommended their release, and a subsequent court order freed them with findings that the family posed no danger and presented no flight risk.
Court records obtained by The Washington Post show Hayam El Gamal experienced chest pain while in ICE custody. A CT scan revealed fluid around her heart, and her attorney reported a mass on her chest, though the scan proved inconclusive on that finding. ICE denied a doctor-recommended ultrasound follow-up for the condition, according to the report.
The Trump administration has maintained a consistent position that associates of terrorists must be removed regardless of judicial pushback. The White House's official X account posted on June 3, 2025: "Six One-Way Tickets for Mohamed's Wife and Five Kids. Final Boarding Call Coming Soon."
Saturday's reversal stands as one of the most dramatic confrontations between immigration enforcement and judicial authority in recent years. The plane's return to Denver and the family's release at approximately 11 p.m. Saturday night followed a frantic rush by attorneys to four different federal courts seeking emergency relief.
The case underscores structural tensions in immigration enforcement, where final administrative orders face repeated judicial review even after all appeals have been exhausted within the immigration court system. With the Tenth Circuit now involved, the legal battle over the El Gamal family's removal shows no sign of ending.