COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — The El Gamals, a Colorado Springs-area family who were released from a Texas immigration facility following a federal judge’s order on Thursday, were detained again by federal agents and put on a private jet in Denver bound for Egypt, attorneys for the family said Saturday.
As of early Saturday evening, it was unclear whether Hayam El Gamal and her five children would be allowed to return to the U.S.
Federal agents took the El Gamal family, who emigrated from Egypt, to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, in early June 2025, following the arrest of Hayam El Gamal’s then-husband, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, in connection with an antisemitic attack in Boulder. The family had been cleared by the FBI, according to court testimony from an agent.
They were detained for 324 days at the immigration facility despite a decades-old federal settlement that states children are not allowed to be detained for more than 20.
The family’s attorneys, Eric Lee and Chris Godshall-Bennett, filed an emergency motion Saturday to halt the family’s deportation. Judge Fred Biery, who ordered the family’s release two days earlier, granted the motion. A second federal judge, Nina Wang, also issued an order Saturday that bars the Trump administration from deporting the family.
Once the first motion was granted, the plane carrying the El Gamal family turned back, Lee said.
“We are told the family will be released, but we don’t trust a word they say,” Lee said on X. “The children are 5, 5, 9, 16, and 18 years old. The mother has suffered health emergencies, and her life is in danger.”
Lee said the detainment violated Biery’s order not to detain or remove the family from the U.S. until they go through formal removal proceedings, which the family is fighting.
The Department of Homeland Security did not address questions about the family’s detainment Saturday. However, it reiterated the family has received due process — an account that has been disputed by the family’s attorneys.
“Under President Trump, DHS will continue to fight for the removal of those who have no right to be in our country — especially terrorists and their associates. We are confident the courts will ultimately vindicate us,” Homeland Security officials said.
Community members associated with Neighbors of Faith and Conviction, a group of Colorado Springs residents who organized to help support the family, said they picked up the El Gamals from the Texas facility and returned them to Colorado Springs early Saturday morning.
A short time later, the family drove to the ICE field office in Denver to comply with the judge’s order for a required check-in. That’s when they were taken, according to Neighbors of Faith and Conviction spokesperson Alexandria Newton.
Federal Court grants our Emergency Motion stopping Trump from illegally deporting El Gamal family.
— Eric Lee (@EricLeeAtty) April 25, 2026
The plane is landing in Michigan in an hour. It constitutionally cannot be allowed to take off. pic.twitter.com/FBswbCxvDn
About 60 people, including classmates of the El Gamal children, protested at City Hall on Saturday afternoon following the news of the family’s deportation.
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