Mohamed Naser has been held in a detention center in rural western Georgia for more than a week.
A federal immigration judge granted his release on a $20,000 bond Tuesday.
Now his attorney, Helen Parsonage, says his release has been paused by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
She says the stay on his release could last from 10 to 90 days. During Tuesday’s bond hearing, the government argued Naser is a flight risk because he evaded officers when they initially tried to take him into custody.
“He was faced with unidentified individuals trying to force their way into his house, where he had a wife and four daughters,” she says. “I can think we can all identify with that.”
She says Naser has no criminal record and is in the country legally as he seeks asylum.
Parsonage says authorities have invited Naser to voluntarily deport himself, but he has declined.
WFDD reached out to ICE officials for comment. No one from the media office replied to the request.