WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – U.S. District Court Judge Gordon P. Gallagher blocked the Trump administration from deporting the family of Mohamed Soliman, who is accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at a group of demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado. 

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said ICE took Soliman’s family into custody and officials were processing the family members for expedited removal. 

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas.), the former chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said he expected the family to be deported this week. 

Judge Gallagher said the administration can’t deport the family unless he or a court of appeals rules they can. 

The Department of Homeland Security said Soliman overstayed his visa. They said he entered the United States in August of 2022 on a tourist visa. He filed for asylum in September and was granted a work permit in March of 2023. 

“The authorities are going to need to run that to the ground,” said Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.). “I’ve long believed that this country would be a lot better off if we updated our immigration laws.”

The Congressional Research Service said in 2023, 42% of the 11 million people in the U.S. illegally had overstayed their visas. 

“He shouldn’t have been here. He overstayed. And he certainly shouldn’t have been allowed to stay,” McCaul said. 

The Department of Homeland Security said, in the wake of the attack, it is cracking down on people with expired visas.