Colorado Leaders Unite to Welcome Home El Gamal Family; Condemn ICE Overreach and Detention

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Colorado Leaders Unite to Welcome Home El Gamal Family; Condemn ICE Overreach and Detention

More than 100 sign statement of solidarity; call for unity in resisting ICE’s abuses

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Isabel Watson, 612.300.8448, [email protected]

DENVER (May 5, 2026) –Today, a broad coalition of community leaders, elected officials, and organizations across Colorado released a joint public statement welcoming home the El Gamal family and condemning their lengthy and harmful detention by federal immigration authorities. It also lifts up the united front formed after the June 1, 2025, antisemitic firebombing on Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall, and recommits to efforts to combat antisemitism, xenophobia, and other forms of hatred. Together, the signers insist on bringing understanding, not division, in advocating for the El Gamal family.

The statement reads as follows:

Last year, in a powerful show of solidarity in the wake of the June 1st antisemitic firebombing on Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall, over one hundred of Colorado’s Jewish and immigrant rights leaders came together to oppose cynical attempts by the Trump administration to turn us against each other. We are proud of the way Coloradans rose both to support those directly harmed by the attack — who we wish continued healing and peace — and to defend those who were targeted after, and we remain committed to efforts to confront antisemitism, xenophobia, and all other forms of hate.
Now, we as community leaders in Colorado are coming together once more to celebrate the release of the El Gamal family, who were not involved in the attack, but were abducted by ICE in response to it anyway. United as one, we also condemn the lengthy imprisonment and cruel mistreatment – including denial of needed medical care – the family endured in a privatized immigrant detention center in Texas.
In Colorado, we know that hurting innocent people does nothing to heal anyone’s pain –it actually just harms all of us even more. We know that what is truly healing is the polar opposite: coming together, across our differences, to learn, build, mourn and find joy with one another. This is who we are at our best, and why we will continue to strenuously resist all efforts to divide us and pit us against one another.
Together, we say ‘welcome home’ to the El Gamal family, as they finally are able to return to Colorado. They belong here, and with a clear and united voice, we call for federal immigration authorities to cease their persecution of this family and leave both them and our broader communities in peace.

The statement remains open for additional signatures, and the signer list will continue to be updated here. Current signers include immigrant rights advocacy organizations, rabbis, unions, and many notable elected and community leaders. To date, the signers of the letter include:

Organizations: