A suspected antisemitic firebombing in Boulder has prompted a swift response from the Trump administration, which now faces backlash after threatening to deport not only the accused but also his family. Federal authorities identified 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, an undocumented immigrant, as the alleged perpetrator of the attack.
The administration vowed to remove him from the country on an expedited basis by the end of the day. But a post from the official White House social media account stirred controversy by indicating that Soliman’s wife and five children could also be deported imminently. “Six One-Way Tickets for Mohamed’s Wife and Five Kids. Final Boarding Call Coming Soon,” the post read.
The language sparked alarm among immigration and legal experts, who denounced the move as a form of collective punishment and potentially a violation of federal law. “This collective punishment is unsettling,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a legal expert with the American Immigration Council. “What the guy did was absolutely heinous, and he should rot in prison for it.
But without any evidence that his wife and kids had anything to do with this, this is just cruelty for cruelty’s sake. You can’t have an actual investigation of the family’s role in this amount of time.” Reichlin-Melnick further pointed out that deporting the family under “expedited removal” would be legally dubious.
“If the family really is being taken away under ‘expedited removal,’ that is a plain violation of federal law,” he explained. “It’s possible that the White House is lying about using expedited removal, and the family agreed to take ‘stipulated removal’ orders. If they are actually using ‘expedited removal,’ that would be ILLEGAL, the law forbids it for anyone admitted on a visa.”
This incident adds to the mounting criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, which have repeatedly drawn legal challenges. Federal courts have, in several instances, ruled against efforts to remove individuals without proper due process, emphasizing constitutional protections.
The Boulder attack, still under investigation, has deeply unsettled the community, with local leaders condemning the violence and calling for unity. However, the administration’s handling of the aftermath, particularly its messaging and tactics, has shifted focus toward broader questions about legal overreach and civil rights.
As public scrutiny intensifies, it remains to be seen whether the administration will proceed with the threatened deportations or face another legal rebuke from the federal judiciary.