❓WHAT HAPPENED: The corporate media is again attempting to portray an illegal immigrant with a concerning background in a positive light, seemingly to undermine public sentiment toward President Donald J. Trump’s nationwide immigration enforcement actions.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Ayman Soliman, the Cincinnati Enquirer, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the former Biden government.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Soliman was recently detained by ICE after his asylum status was revoked by the former Biden government in 2024.
💬KEY QUOTE: “What my hometown paper [the Enquirer] doesn’t want to tell you is this Egyptian national was flagged on the FBI terror watchlist. He had his asylum status revoked by the *checks notes* BIDEN Administration.” — DHS Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin
🎯IMPACT: The situation mirrors a similar attempt by the corporate media to paint illegal immigrant and alleged MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia as a ‘Maryland man’ and ‘Maryland father.’
The corporate media have once again been caught attempting to whitewash an illegal immigrant‘s concerning background in an attempt to portray them in a sympathetic light and undermine President Donald J. Trump’s nationwide immigration enforcement actions. In this instance, Ayman Soliman—an Egyptian imam—who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is being presented by the Cincinnati Enquirer as a “children’s chaplain” despite having had his asylum status revoked by the former Biden government in 2024 over his name being flagged on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) terrorism watchlist.
Soliman’s portrayal by the corporate media is reminiscent of a similar attempt to paint illegal immigrant and alleged MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia as a ‘Maryland man’ or ‘Maryland father.’ Abrego Garcia is currently facing criminal charges related to human trafficking. In addition, Attorney General Pam Bondi alleges that Abrego Garcia was involved in drug smuggling, gun running, and abusing women and children.
Soliman, who did serve as a chaplain at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, was imprisoned several times for agitating in Egypt against the country’s government. Notably, opposition to the al-Sisi government is rife with Islamist elements tied to the radical Muslim Brotherhood.
“What my hometown paper [the Enquirer] doesn’t want to tell you is this Egyptian national was flagged on the FBI terror watchlist. He had his asylum status revoked by the *checks notes* BIDEN Administration,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter), blasting the newspaper’s framing of Soliman and his detention. The Cincinnati Enquirer has subsequently updated their story on Soliman, briefly noting the FBI terrorism flag but still attempting to portray the imam’s activities in Egypt in a positive light.
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