Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested an Egyptian national who was previously granted asylum and was later flagged on the FBI’s terror watchlist.
Imam Ayman Soliman, who formerly served as a chaplain at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and led services at a mosque in Ohio City, was taken into custody Wednesday by federal authorities following a meeting with ICE and FBI agents.
Soliman first entered the United States approximately a decade ago and was granted asylum in 2018. However, according to Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, Soliman’s asylum status was revoked under the Biden administration. DHS confirmed that Soliman “was flagged on the FBI terror watchlist” before his arrest.
Court documents indicate that members of Soliman’s family, still residing in Egypt, had submitted requests to immigrate to the United States to join him, according to The Daily Wire.
Supporters of Soliman, including several Ohio state representatives, held a press conference Wednesday demanding his release from custody. They argued that he fled religious persecution in Egypt and that his life could be in danger if deported.
Despite such concerns, the Trump administration has previously carried out deportations of illegal immigrants to third countries when repatriation to their country of origin was unable to be completed. The US Supreme Court upheld the administration’s authority to continue this policy, allowing deportations to alternative nations such as South Sudan in cases where return to the immigrant’s home country is denied or deemed potentially dangerous.
