DILLEY, Texas \u2014 Hayam El Gamal and her five children, who had been held in an immigration detention here for nearly 10 months, were released Thursday. They were detained there longer than any other family under the Trump administration\u2019s mass deportation agenda. <\/p>\n
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El Gamal’s ex-husband, the children’s father, was charged in a fatal antisemitic firebombing attack in Colorado. The children range in age from 5 to 18.<\/p>\n
The family was freed Thursday afternoon, several hours after U.S. District Judge Fred Biery of the Western District of Texas ordered their release. <\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThey have been released,\u201d family attorney Eric Lee told NBC News in a phone call with a clamor of young voices in the background. The attorneys drove out of Dilley and did not stop for media.<\/p>\n As he left the courtroom earlier in the day, Lee told reporters that he was \u201cthrilled to pieces\u201d about the judge’s decision. El Gamal and Habiba Soliman, 18, the oldest child, will have to wear ankle monitors, but Lee said at least “they\u2019ll be home.” <\/p>\n Lee declined to say if the family would be flying out of Texas on Thursday, adding that El Gamal\u2019s health is a priority. <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the first thing we are doing is we are getting her medical attention,\u201d he said. He said he could not comment on when she might go to a medical facility.<\/p>\n Christopher Godshall-Bennett, who represented Habiba Soliman, said after the ruling that “children should not be in jail.” <\/p>\n “It’s really heartening there’s still a sliver of justice,” a visibly emotional Godshall-Bennett said, adding that they came “so close” to getting out several times over the past several months. <\/p>\n On Monday, a federal magistrate recommended the family be released <\/a>\u201cunder conditions sufficient to ensure their participation at future removal proceedings.\u201d<\/p>\n Following Monday’s recommendation for their release, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement to NBC News that “the judge wants to release this terrorist\u2019s family onto American streets. Under President Trump, DHS will continue to fight for the removal of those who have no right to be in our country, especially national security threats.” <\/p>\n El Gamal and her children had been in detention since June, following the arrest of her ex-husband Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45. He has been charged with multiple counts in connection with the June attack in Boulder <\/a>on a group calling for the release of Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip. At least 14 people were injured in the attack and a woman died<\/a> weeks later. He’s pleaded not guilty to the charges. <\/p>\n El Gamal, who divorced Soliman after his arrest, condemned the attack and said that the family knew nothing of his alleged plans. <\/p>\n Lee, El Gamal\u2019s attorney, recently filed court documents urging the family\u2019s release, pointing out El Gamal\u2019s recent emergency room visit <\/a>and a lump in her chest that\u2019s been causing her \u201cexcruciating\u201d pain. Several physicians asked by Lee to independently review El Gamal\u2019s medical records recommended she receive further testing for cancer, autoimmune disease and cardiac issues and raised concerns over her medical condition.<\/p>\n Biery\u2019s order is not the first time the administration has been instructed to release the family. An immigration judge granted the family bond, allowing them to leave detention on a $15,000 bond on Sept. 19, 2025. But the administration used various legal maneuvers to prevent their release. <\/p>\n The administration tried to immediately deport the family after Soliman was arrested, with the White House posting on social media about six one-way tickets <\/a>for \u201cMohamed\u2019s Wife and Five Kids. Final Boarding Call Coming Soon.\u201d<\/p>\n But a federal judge stopped the deportation, saying El Gamal and her children could not be immediately deported because they had been in the country more than two years. <\/p>\n The family had been outspoken about conditions inside the Dilley facility, which is designated as a detention center for families. Drawings by the children and letters by them and El Gamal were released to the media and provided to Congress. <\/p>\n In a March 9 letter to U.S. senators, El Gamal stated that the family\u2019s religious beliefs were not accommodated. She and her oldest daughter were not shielded from men they did not know, she said, and halal food was not served. <\/p>\n