Courtesy of Lynn Tramonte, Executive Director of Ohio Immigrant Alliance
Cincinnati, Ohio: Ayman Soliman, an Egyptian national granted political asylum in the United States in 2018, has filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (Western Division) challenging the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) decision to terminate his asylum status. The complaint, filed on July 24, 2025, alleges that the termination is arbitrary, capricious, and violates federal law, including the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), and due process under the Fifth Amendment.
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 USCIS. No terrorism-related concerns were raised at the time of his asylum grant. He is currently being held at the Butler County Jail in Hamilton, Ohio. On July 22 an immigration court hearing addressed custody and bond issues, but those proceedings remain ongoing, with the next hearing scheduled for July 29, 2025.
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 decision relies heavily on two pre-2018 academic reports which USCIS alleges show links between GS and MB. However, the authors of both 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.
The lawsuit 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.”
In addition to the complaint seeking to vacate USCIS’s asylum termination and reinstate Soliman’s status, Soliman has filed emergency motions for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and Preliminary Injunction. These motions request immediate release from detention and a stay of removal proceedings in immigration court to prevent irreparable harm, including family separation, health risks in custody, and potential deportation. He lost his employment authorization, leading to financial hardship for him and his family.
“The public interest demands we uphold due process and protect those who’ve sought refuge from persecution. This action by a lone USCIS employee, vacating prior asylum grants without factual or legal support or new evidence, jeopardizes the lawful immigrant status of all immigrants,” Ratliff stated.
Soliman’s case highlights broader concerns about USCIS’s handling of asylum terminations, particularly for individuals from Muslim-majority countries. Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union-Ohio (ACLU-Ohio) and the Ohio Immigrant Alliance have voiced support for his case. Soliman seeks to have the court reverse the asylum termination, reinstate his asylum status and associated benefits, grant attorneys’ fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, and grant an injunction against future terminations on the same grounds.
UPDATE: Ayman Soliman received notice July 28, 2025 that the Immigration Judge will not exercise jurisdiction in making a bond determination in his case, so that he will remain detained in the Butler County Jail for now.