A judge ordered the Boulder attack suspect’s family released, but the government is keeping them locked up anyway

The family of the man accused of the Boulder Molotov cocktail attack remains detained despite a federal court ordering their release. As first highlighted by ABC News and the Texas Tribune, U.S. magistrate Elizabeth Chestney ruled that the detention of Hayam El Gamal and her five children is unconstitutional, but their attorney Eric Lee confirmed they have not been freed from the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas.

The family has been held at the facility for more than 10 months. The case centers on Mohamed Sabry Soliman, who is accused of throwing incendiary devices at pro-Israel demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado, last June. Soliman faces over 100 charges including first-degree murder and assault, and has pleaded not guilty. His wife has filed for divorce and the family has maintained they had an estranged relationship with him.

The children range in age from 5-year-old twins to an 18-year-old, and none of them have been charged with any crimes. The family originally arrived in the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2022 and subsequently applied for asylum. Following the June attack, DHS moved to process them for expedited deportation, which a federal judge previously blocked.

The government is refusing to comply with the court’s order

DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis issued a statement defending the continued detention, calling Soliman “a terrorist responsible for an anti-Semitic firebombing in Boulder” and saying the administration would continue to fight for the family’s removal. Attorney Eric Lee responded directly: “Although the court has ruled that the El Gamal family is detained in violation of the Constitution, the government continues to keep them locked up. We demand their immediate release.” The standoff is part of a broader pattern of the executive branch resisting court rulings, amid separate disputes over Trump administration defiance of federal oversight.

A hearing was scheduled for Thursday before U.S. District Judge Fred Biery in San Antonio, following the magistrate’s ruling on the family’s habeas petition. The family’s legal team has raised alarms about medical neglect and poor living conditions throughout the 10-month stay. Lee reported on X that El Gamal was recently rushed to an emergency room for persistent chest pain and an unidentified lump, and expressed concern she is not receiving proper diagnosis or treatment.

DHS chief medical officer Dr. Sean Conley denied the allegations, stating it is “both policy and longstanding practice for aliens to receive timely and appropriate medical care from the moment they enter ICE custody.” He said that care includes mental health services, emergency care, and follow-up appointments. The family’s children have described seeing moldy or worm-infested food, and one 16-year-old detailed significant delays in receiving care for appendicitis.

DHS’s position, that national security concerns justify keeping the family detained, reflects the same enforcement-first posture the administration has applied across multiple fronts, including cases involving government surveillance and national service proposals. Thursday’s hearing before Judge Biery will be the next determining step in whether the family is released.