Hayam El Gamal and her five children aged 5 to 18 were taken into federal custody last June following a fire-bomb attack in Boulder, Colorado. The attack was over which her ex-husband, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was charged.
US District Judge Fred Biery of the Western District of Texas ordered their release on Thursday.
The El Gamal family is free, said Eric Lee, a lawyer for the family detained in Texas. However, Hayam El Gamal and Habiba Soliman, 18, the eldest child, will have to wear ankle monitors.
The US Department of Homeland Security criticized the ruling, saying it came from an “activist judge” who was “releasing this terrorist’s family onto American streets.”
Mohamed Soliman was arrested over the attack on a gathering that commemorated Israeli hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza. El Gamal divorced Soliman after his arrest and condemned the attack.
The family’s legal team says they had no advance knowledge of the suspect’s plans and that the family was detained unlawfully. The government said federal agents were investigating to what extent the family knew about the attack.
The legal team also said the family’s health deteriorated during their detention and alleged they were denied appropriate medical care. Lee, the family’s lawyer, said El Gamal was taken to an off-site emergency room after she began experiencing excruciating pain and received a CT scan which showed fluid around her heart. All five of her children were suffering from depression.
The DHS said the family received medical care and due process.
Rights groups have noted detainee complaints about conditions in ICE detention facilities that they call inhumane. At least 47 people have died in ICE custody since Trump’s return to the White House. Trump’s immigration crackdown has been condemned by rights groups for what they say are violations of due process and free speech rights. Rights advocates say the crackdown creates an unsafe environment, particularly for minorities.