Judge: Arizona man’s deportation violated due process

Judge finds a due process violation

U.S. District Judge John C. Hinderaker ordered the Trump administration to work to return an Arizona resident who was deported to Equatorial Guinea, a country where he had no ties.

Hinderaker ruled that the Department of Homeland Security violated the Constitution’s due process protections by sending the man, identified in court as A.M.A.S., away without advance notice or an opportunity to make a claim that he feared harm there.

Arizona Rep. Adelita Grijalva identified him as Ahmed Soliman, a 30-year-old Egyptian native who had lived in the United States since age 4. Soliman arrived in 1998 and became a lawful permanent resident in 2021. He was convicted of assault and drug possession in 2023 and sentenced to prison and probation.

Deportation followed blocked removal to Egypt

DHS began removal proceedings in January 2024. An immigration judge ordered Soliman deported to Egypt in October 2025, but courts later stopped that removal after determining that his sexual orientation and family background put him in danger there.

Soliman filed a habeas corpus petition in April to challenge his detention and prevent an unannounced transfer to another country. Four days later, immigration authorities deported him to Equatorial Guinea before the court ruled. Officials disclosed the destination shortly before boarding and denied his request for a fear interview because they said it was too late.

An acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit chief said Equatorial Guinea had given diplomatic assurances that deportees would not face persecution or torture.

Hinderaker wrote that detainees instead experienced verbal abuse, beatings and repeated threats of death. After some spoke with journalists, armed masked officers dragged Soliman and four others from their rooms, handcuffed them and assaulted them, the judge wrote. The administration did not contest that account in the case.