Former Cincinnati Children's Hospital chaplain Imam Ayman Soliman was detained by ICE, Fellow chaplains describe his contributions to the community as "immeasurable"
Jul 9, 2025
It’s been over a decade since Imam Ayman Soliman immigrated to the United States from Egypt being granted asylum status. ICE or Cincinnati Children’s officials were unable to be reached regarding the status of Soliman.
On Wednesday afternoon his supporters gathered for a press conference, they said federal officials had rescinded Soliman’s asylum status in December of 2024. They detained him Wednesday morning after a meeting previously scheduled with ICE officials in Blue Ash, Ohio. The meeting lasted over three hours and also included FBI agents.
Soliman was permitted to work as he waited for his asylum request to be resolved. He spent the last several years working for Cincinnati Children’s hospital as a chaplain and also presided over services at the Clifton Mosque.
Released federal court documents indicated Soliman’s family in Egypt had current pending request to join him in Cincinnati.
More than a dozen clergy, colleagues and parents of former patients wrote on Solimans behalf, calling him a caring advocate for grieving parents and a valuable co-worker that spoke several languages fluently.
"His contributions to our hospital community have been immeasurable, and his absence is deeply felt," wrote the Rev. Adam Allen, a fellow chaplain at Children's.
"I have seen the manner in which Ayman so skillfully and gently supports families during the unimaginable," wrote Alexandra Hausfeld, a Children's nurse. "Ayman is a man of faith and compassion – I can truthfully attest that he is one of the most humble and hardworking individuals I have met, personally and professionally."
Audrey Kandil, whose son spent six months at Children's before recovering and returning home wrote “Ayman Soliman kept my husband and I sane, He offered us support, a friendly face, and a resource that no other medical professional could offer us.”
An associate professor at the University of Cincinnati, Judith Ragsdale said "He was the victim of persecution and torture, The value he brings to the United States is immense; the danger to him if he leaves is likewise enormous."
Soliman appeared on the Cincinnati Children’s website as chaplain until February of this year, but references of him have now been removed.