9/19/25 Reposted from citybeat.com
Former Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Imam Ayman Soliman, who was detained by ICE in July, was released from the Butler County Jail Friday. His asylum status has been reinstated and he is no longer facing deportation.
Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA), one of Soliman’s legal representatives, made the announcement on social media this afternoon, writing, “MLFA’s client Ayman Soliman was released from ICE custody today, and will no longer face deportation. This amazing result is due to fearless lawyering by MLFA’s Immigration Litigation Attorneys, Kathryn Brady and Franchel Daniel, along with co-counsel and grassroots advocates in Ohio.”
On Instagram, Young United Souls for Revolutionary Action (YUSRA) shared a video of Soliman leaving the detention center Friday, smiling and carrying what appears to be a bag of personal belongings. In another Instagram post, Ohio Immigrant Alliance shared that Soliman, as well as his friends, supporters and lawyers, will hold a press conference at the Clifton Mosque today at 5 p.m., which will be livestreamed on Instagram here.
U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman (OH-1) released a statement following Soliman’s release:
“My team and I are very glad that Ayman has been released and is on his way home and back to our Cincinnati community.
I had a really wonderful conversation with Ayman this morning, where we mostly talked about his faith and chaplaincy work, which he now has the opportunity to continue to do.”
Background
Soliman had been in the Butler County Jail since a July 9 check-in at the Homeland Security Office in Blue Ash ended in his arrest, and he was scheduled to go to trial at the end of September. He had worked at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital as a chaplain until his asylum status was officially revoked in June.
Soliman, who has no criminal record, fled to the U.S. from Egypt in 2014, according to immigration advocates at Ignite Peace Cincinnati. Soliman has said he was “escaping death” when he left his family in Egypt more than a decade ago. Soliman was reportedly jailed as a freelance journalist for his coverage of events related to the Arab Spring, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio. While in jail, the MLFA alleges he was “beaten and tortured for days at a time.” He applied for asylum status in 2015 and was approved in 2018. He then filed for his wife and child to join him in the U.S. under the same asylum case. He also applied for a green card shortly after being granted asylum; that application remains pending.
But in June 2025, Soliman’s asylum status was officially revoked after federal authorities started looking into his case in December 2024. Before Soliman’s July 9 arrest, advocates said he was extensively questioned by immigration and other federal authorities about his political affiliations.
In 2021, Soliman discovered there was an “FBI flag” on his record when he was offered a position at the Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) as an Islamic chaplain. His first background check showed an FBI flag, which caused the Department of Corrections to take back the job offer. Soliman sued the FBI and the Terrorist Screening Center in 2021, claiming his fingerprints did not match prints in the government’s terrorism screening database.
In Soliman’s most recent lawsuit filed against the federal government regarding the termination of his asylum status, he argued the government revoked his asylum due to past ties with the group Al-Jameya al Shareya (also written as Al-Gam’iyya al Shar’iyya) when he lived in Egypt. Soliman said his involvement as a board member of the organization was disclosed to DHS when he was granted asylum. The U.S. government alleges Al-Jameya al Shareya supported the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypt has called a terrorist organization. International experts and Soliman’s lawyers have pushed back on the designation.
“Al-Jameya al Shareya is not a terrorist group,” Soliman’s legal team said in July. “It is a nongovernmental organization that provides medical services and charitable community services. Neither the U.S. government nor the Egyptian government has designated AGS/AJS a terrorist group.”
Soliman’s case garnered widespread attention and support from local leaders and community members, including many faith leaders in the Cincinnati area. After immigrating to the U.S., Soliman became a board member for the Clifton Mosque, the Islamic Association of Cincinnati and the Initiative on Islam and Medicine. According to his bio on the Clifton Mosque’s website, Soliman holds undergraduate degrees in Islamic studies, Qura’n and Islamic Da’wah. He holds a Master’s degree in Islamic Studies and is currently pursuing a Master’s of Divinity in Islamic Studies and Muslim Chaplaincy, as well as a PhD in Islamic Studies.
Tala Ali, chairperson of the Clifton Mosque and the Islamic Association of Cincinnati, addressed reporters alongside several community advocates just hours after Soliman’s arrest. She said Soliman serves families of all faiths in the Cincinnati community.
“He not only serves Muslim families, but families of all backgrounds and faiths,” she said. “He holds presence and pastoral care for all people.”
