Liberty Delayed
Ayman Soliman and His Attorneys Back in Cleveland Immigration Court July 29
Register for post-hearing legal briefing on Zoom (9:30ET)
CLEVELAND – Today the Immigration Judge declined to exercise jurisdiction over Mr. Soliman’s bond. “We strongly disagree with the Immigration Judge’s decision and will pursue an appeal with the Board of Immigration Appeals,” said Robert A. Ratliff, Soliman’s attorney with Brennan, Manna & Diamond, LLC.
On July 29 at 8am, Ayman Soliman and his attorneys will be back in the Cleveland Immigration Court for a continuation of his Master Calendar hearing — after winning extension of a Temporary Restraining Order in Federal Court through July 30, and filing a new lawsuit challenging the government’s unlawful termination of his asylum status.
This hearing will be limited to procedural matters relating to the Amended Notice to Appear and scheduling future hearings. Mr. Soliman will be appearing by video from the Butler County Jail. Attorneys will host a post-hearing legal briefing on Zoom at 9:30am ET (registration required).
What: Continued master calendar hearing for Ayman Soliman
When: July 29 at 8am (post-hearing Zoom legal briefing with attorneys at 9:30am)
Where: Cleveland Immigration Court (801 W. Superior Avenue, Judge Riedthaler Williams’ Courtroom, 14th Floor) for hearing; register here to get Zoom information for post-hearing Soliman attorney briefing
How: Although this is scheduled to be an Internet-based hearing, Judge Riedthaler Williams advised people at the last hearing that the public would only be allowed to view the next hearing in person. Please review the ground rules for observing immigration court hearings before attending
POST-HEARING ZOOM BRIEFING: At 9:30am ET, attorneys for Mr. Soliman will offer statements and answer reporter questions in a Zoom press call. To receive the registration information for that call, click here.
BACKGROUND: Ayman Soliman, a Cincinnati resident and former chaplain at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, arrived in the U.S. in 2014 fleeing persecution in Egypt in retaliation for his freelance work with journalism crews. He was granted asylum after a thorough review by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). No terrorism-related concerns were raised at the time of his asylum grant.
On June 3, 2025, USCIS terminated Soliman’s asylum status, claiming that through his involvement with the charitable organization Al-Gam’iyya al-Shar’iyya (GS) he had provided “material support” to the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) — which the terminating asylum officer deemed an undesignated Tier III terrorist organization. The U.S. government has not designated the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) a terrorist organization, and has never accused Mr. Soliman of participating in any criminal or terrorist activity. The asylum officer’s decision relies on two pre-2018 academic reports which USCIS alleges show links between GS and MB.
But the authors of these reports have submitted letters refuting USCIS’s interpretation, stating that GS is a decentralized, non-political charity with no organizational ties to MB and that the government misrepresented the reports. One author, Steven Brooke, an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, emphasized that GS operates independently and cooperates with various groups and the Egyptian government for charitable purposes only. The other author, Marie Vannetzel, a researcher at France’s National Center for Scientific Research, described GS as a “para-public” service agency aiding Egypt’s underserved population, with any historical MB involvement limited and non-terrorist in nature.
Using these letters as exhibits, a new lawsuit filed by Mr. Soliman’s attorneys in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Western Division, argues that USCIS’s asylum termination lacks new evidence, contains factual errors, improperly shifts the burden of proof, and violates res judicata by relitigating issues settled by USCIS’s grant of asylum in 2018. “This termination is not based on facts or law but on a misguided reinterpretation of old information,” said Robert A. Ratliff, Soliman’s attorney with Brennan, Manna & Diamond, LLC. “Ayman has built a life in Cincinnati, contributing to his community, and now faces deportation to a country where he risks torture and death. We’re fighting to restore his rightful asylum status.”
“The government’s assertions, although presented as fact, are actually a cascading series of layered and unsubstantiated assumptions. The government’s assumption stacking fails to meet its burden of proof,” said Franchel D. Daniel, Immigration Senior Staff Attorney with the Muslim Legal Fund of America.
Learn more about Soliman’s legal case in this readout of the first hearing in Judge Riedthaler Williams’ court, and announcement about the latest lawsuit.
Read about the broad and deep community support for Ayman Soliman, known as the Interfaith Imam, here.