- Judge John C. Hinderaker ruled Ahmed Soliman’s deportation to Equatorial Guinea violated due process and ordered steps to return him.
- The order requires the government to seek Soliman’s release and update the court within three days.
- Before any later transfer, officials must give Soliman a credible-fear screening opportunity to raise concerns about persecution or torture.
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to secure Ahmed Soliman’s release and return after his deportation to Equatorial Guinea. Judge John C. Hinderaker ruled the removal violated Soliman’s Fifth Amendment due-process rights and caused “irreparable harm.” He remains jailed.
The order directs the Department of Homeland Security to take “all reasonable steps within their control” to obtain his release, arrange travel documents and bring him back to the United States. The agency must update the court within three days. DHS has 30 days to appeal.
Soliman is a 31-year-old Egyptian national who lives in Phoenix. He arrived in the United States at age four and was deported in April 2026, despite protection against removal to Egypt.
Authorities in the African country arrested him in September after he criticized security-force conduct. His lawyers said officials held him incommunicado at a gendarmerie station.
The order requires a screening before any later transfer
The judge’s ruling does not bar the government from trying to remove Soliman to another country later. It does require officials to give him a meaningful chance to undergo a credible-fear screening before any new transfer.
That safeguard addresses the risk of sending him somewhere without a meaningful opportunity to raise fears of persecution or torture. The order combines the return directive with a condition on any subsequent removal.
More than 40 people were sent under the third-country policy
Soliman was among more than 40 people the United States sent to the country. The transfers reportedly relied on agreements for migrants who could not lawfully be sent to their designated destinations because they had won protection from persecution or torture.
Lawyers and rights groups have said some deportees were beaten or held at gunpoint. They also reported that some people were sent back to their countries of origin despite protection orders.
The order comes as broader deportation cases proceed
The dispute is part of wider litigation over third-country removals. The First Circuit held that migrants generally must receive effective notice of their destination and a meaningful chance to raise concerns about persecution or torture.
On September 29, 2026, the Supreme Court temporarily allowed the administration to resume the removals while the government appeals. Hinderaker’s order applies to Soliman individually; how it interacts with the appellate cases could affect other people sent to the country.
The court’s next required step is the administration’s update, due within three days. This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.
