All 11 Egyptian students are now in custody

WASHINGTON, D.C – U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Richmond, VA tonight arrested two additional Egyptian nationals who were part of a group of 11 Egyptian students that entered the United States at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport last month and failed to show up for a scheduled academic program at Montana State University.

Special agents from ICE and the FBI have now apprehended all of the original 11 Egyptian students who were the subject of a BOLO issued to law enforcement agencies nationwide last week. All have been taken into custody on administrative immigration violations as out-of-status students.

At roughly 8:45 PM Eastern Time tonight, ICE agents arrested Egyptian nationals Mohamed Saleh Ahmed Maray, age 20, and Mohamed Ibrahim Fouaad El Shenawy, age 17, at an apartment building in Richmond. ICE received critical assistance from the Virginia State Police and the Richmond Police in locating these individuals.

On Friday night, ICE agents in Des Moines, Iowa arrested Ahmed Refaat Saad El Moghazi El Laket, age 19; Mohamed Ibrahim El Sayed El Moghazy, age 20; and Moustafa Wagdy Moustafa El Gafary, age 18. ICE agents tracked these students’ travels from New York to San Francisco to Des Moines.

On Thursday, ICE agents arrested El Sayed Ahmed Elsayed Ibrahim, age 20, and Alaa Abd El Fattah Ali El Bahnasawi, age 20, in Dundalk, Maryland. Also on Thursday, the Chicago Police Department detained Ahmed Mohamed Mohamed Abou El Ela, age 22 at O’Hare International Airport as he attempted to book a flight to Montana. He was turned over to ICE.

On Wednesday, the Manville, N.J. Police Department detained Mohamed Ragab Mohamed Abd Alla, age 22, and Ebrahim Mabrouk Moustafa Abdou, age 22. Both were turned over to ICE. The same day, FBI and ICE agents arrested Eslam Ibrahim Mohamed El-Dessouki, age 21, in Minneapolis.

Preliminary investigation by ICE and FBI agents has not identified any credible or imminent threat posed by any of the eleven Egyptian students.