Ohio asylum case highlights civil rights and voter access

By Farah Siddiqi

A Cleveland imam – a Muslim religious leader – is at the center of a high-profile asylum case, drawing renewed attention to civil rights concerns in Ohio.

It comes on the heels of a national day of action, with more than 1,600 Good Trouble Lives On protests across the U.S. last week, including events at the Ohio Statehouse and in Cleveland.

More than 16,000 asylum cases remain pending in Ohio’s immigration courts. Rob Ratliff, an attorney with Brennan, Manna, and Diamond who is representing Imam Ayman Soliman, said the U.S. government's decision to revoke asylum protections sets a precedent that should concern every immigrant.

"It clearly indicates that granted asylum is never permanent," said Ratliff. "And should the political winds change and new determinations are made, it may impact whether or not you have asylum eligibility."

Supporters of stricter immigration oversight say new rules are needed to prevent abuse of the asylum system.

Soliman’s bond hearing is set for July 23 in Cleveland. The Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, Detroit-Cleveland, which represents ICE in this jurisdiction, did not respond to a request for comment.

Ratliff said the decision stemmed from a single U.S. asylum officer’s personal reclassification of a charity Soliman supported while living in Egypt.

The group is not officially designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. or Egyptian governments.

He warned that the implications go far beyond Soliman.

"This is a watershed decision," said Ratliff, "that could have far-reaching consequences for a lot of people who have been granted asylum previously."

At the Good Trouble Lives On protest Justin Kwasa, Director of the Democracy Program at the League of Conservation Voters, linked cases like Soliman’s to a broader pattern of targeted policy.

"Ohio is one of the states that has recently introduced kind of a state-level SAVE Act," said Kwasa. "Not about making our elections safer, but really about making immigrants the bad guy in our country."

Kwasa said demonstrations will continue in Ohio and nationwide to push back against voter suppression and anti-immigrant legislation, urging peaceful action in the spirit of civil rights leaders past.