Imam Ayman Soliman, the former Cincinnati Children’s Hospital chaplain detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Wednesday, can remain in the U.S. while his case plays out.
That’s according to Congressman Greg Landsman (D-OH), who announced in a Thursday evening Instagram story that his office has been advocating for Soliman to remain in the U.S. “for months.”
“We spoke at length today with ICE officials – making the case for why Ayman deserves to remain in our community,” Landsman wrote. “We have been working on Ayman’s case for months – well before this became public. We expect this to be a long process that he and his attorneys will be navigating. At every step of the way – before he was detained, afterward, and going forward – we have been and will continue working hand in hand with his legal team.”
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Soliman immigrated to the U.S. more than a decade ago from Egypt and was granted asylum status, according to immigration advocates at Ignite Peace Cincinnati. While in 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. He has also served as a chaplain at Northwestern University and in the prison system before becoming the imam and chaplain at Cincinnati Children’s.
Soliman has no criminal record, but his asylum status was revoked in December 2024, according to Ignite Peace. Advocates told reporters that his immigration hearing to appeal the asylum decision was recently canceled. Instead, Soliman was detained by ICE and taken to the Butler County Jail on Wednesday morning. Before his arrest, advocates told reporters he was questioned by federal authorities about his political affiliations. Soliman has said he was “escaping death” when he left his family in Egypt to come to the U.S. more than a decade ago. During a press conference following his arrest, advocates told reporters that his wife and children were in the process of seeking a path to reunite with Soliman in the U.S.
For now, Soliman can remain in Ohio before his next immigration hearing, according to Landsman.
“We have secured a commitment that Ayman will be able to stay in Ohio for the time being – prior to his next appearances before the immigration court,” Landsman said. “While we cannot go into every detail, we are working to ensure Ayman receives due process, are pushing for him to be treated fairly, and are doing everything we can to keep him here at home.”
Background
On June 3, ICE set an arrest record of more than 2,200 arrests in a single day, according to the agency. Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has been pushing for an even higher daily quota, looking to set a minimum goal of 3,000 ICE arrests per day. To this end, senior ICE officials have urged officers to “turn the creative knob up to 11” by arresting “collaterals” — noncitizen immigrants encountered by agents while serving arrest warrants for others — according to internal agency emails viewed by The Guardian. Trump’s pursuit of mass deportations got a boost with the passage of Trump’s sweeping “Big Beautiful Bill” on July 4. The tax cut and spending bill significantly increases funding for ICE. The agency is set to receive an infusion of more than $100 billion through 2029, including $29.9 billion in additional funding to hire 10,000 new ICE agents.
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This article appears in Jul 9-22, 2025.