April 17, 2026
The El Gamal family remains detained in Texas for 10 months despite a judge’s release order, raising due process concerns over ICE’s legal tactics.
“It’s heartbreaking to people, especially when they reflect on how kind and caring and helpful the family is” to other detainees.
Last fall, Hayam El Gamal and her five children were about to walk out of a Texas immigration detention center after a judge ruled in their favor.
The immigration judge, Justin Adams, determined that the family – citizens of Egypt who had lived in Kuwait – could be released as long as they paid a $15,000 bond. In a memo explaining the decision, he noted they had lived in the U.S. since entering with tourist visas three years earlier, had no criminal record, provided “numerous letters of support from their local community” and were engaged in “diligent efforts” to obtain asylum.