“We spoke at length today with ICE officials — making the case for why Ayman deserves to remain in our community,” reads a statement from Landsman issued Thursday night. “We have been working on Ayman’s case for months — well before this became public.”
Soliman is listed as a board member for both the Islamic Association of Cincinnati and the Initiative on Islam and Medicine. His biography for the Initiative on Islam and Medicine’s website says he also served as an imam in Egypt for 14 years before moving to the U.S.
Since arriving in America, he has served as a chaplain at Northwestern University and a chaplain in the prison system before becoming the imam and chaplain at Cincinnati Children’s.
“We expect this to be a long process that he and his attorneys will be navigating,” Landsman said. “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. 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.”
In an interview with state Rep. Munira Abdullahi before going into his check-in, Soliman says he was granted asylum status in 2018 after first coming to the U.S. on a temporary visa in March 2014. He applied for his green card in 2019. Then, after six years of waiting, they terminated his status and denied his green card.
According to Soliman’s attorneys, in February 2015, Soliman applied for asylum, and in June 2018, his asylum claim was approved. However, his status began to change during the final months of the Biden administration.
In December 2024, about 12 days after a judge allowed one of his lawsuits against federal agencies to proceed, Soliman was notified that the process to revoke his asylum status was beginning. By early June 2025, his asylum was officially revoked.
Jump told WCPO that Soliman ran from government persecution in Egypt while working as a journalist.
“As a journalist in Egypt reporting on the revolution there, he underwent much torture,” Jump said.
Usually, people seeking asylum, like Soliman, can stay in the U.S. while officials review their cases, and after they receive approval, according to immigration attorneys working with the imam. However, if the government revokes asylum status, those individuals can be deported.
Soliman told Abdullahi he had an immigration hearing scheduled for July 3 that was then rescheduled before he received a notice about a check-in.
“A couple days later, I got the notice to appear in one of the ICE offices in Blue Ash ... my attorney told me this is just supposed to be a regular check-in ... but it’s just too much, you never know,” Soliman said. “If anything happens ... going back to Egypt for me is a death sentence. I didn’t come to America seeking a better life. It was escaping death ... from the regime and his supporters.”
Federal court records obtained by WCPO 9 News show Soliman has filed multiple lawsuits against federal government officials and agencies, including the FBI’s Threat Screening Center, formerly known as the Terrorist Screening Center. In his initial 2022 lawsuit, Soliman says he had a job offer rescinded because his background check came back with an FBI flag.
In the lawsuit, Soliman claims his fingerprints did not match prints recorded in the government’s terrorism screening database.
According to his lawsuit, Soliman was trying to confirm his status and learn why he appeared to be on a federal watchlist despite not having a criminal record.
Community members from various faiths gathered outside the ICE facility in Blue Ash on Wednesday to demand answers and call for Soliman’s release.
On Friday, protesters gathered on the Deerfield Road overpass over I-71 in Blue Ash with banners during morning rush hour. One banner read “Free Ayman,” but protesters said they weren’t there just for Soliman, but for all of the families who have felt shattered by ICE operations.
“As a believer, as a Christ follower, it really hurts my heart to know that someone else is being persecuted for their beliefs,” said Katy Daum, an ESL teacher who joined the protest. “It really is against what the Bible teaches, against what our constitution teaches, it hurts my heart.”
The organization is also requesting people bring signs with messages of love to the Clifton mosque before afternoon prayer in support.
Many supporters have spoken of Soliman’s contributions to the local mosque and his impact at Cincinnati Children’s, where he served as the first and only Muslim chaplain. Soliman has family, including a wife and children in Egypt, whom he was hoping to bring to the United States.