When Eza Omar’s phone buzzed during a therapy shift, a text from her sister read: “Abti was taken.” In a few words, a normal afternoon turned into a months-long scramble as the family tried to figure out where their uncle had gone and why federal authorities had moved him so fast through the system. Loved ones say they were left without clear answers while he was moved through detention and, in the end, put on a plane overseas.
How He Disappeared From the System
Family members say Abdullahi Mohamed, who lived for years in east Charlotte before moving to Maine, was picked up during a routine ICE check-in on Oct. 23, 2025, then transferred through several districts before being deported to Somalia on Dec. 18, 2025. Relatives say Mohamed arrived back with family overseas with injuries that included a broken nose and elbow, and that they are now trying to line up medical care and documentation of his condition. As reported by The Charlotte Observer.
Operation Charlotte’s Web Left Neighbors Scrambling
Mohamed’s disappearance unfolded during a larger federal enforcement sweep in Charlotte in mid-November 2025, when masked agents in unmarked vehicles arrested dozens of people along the city’s immigrant corridors, leaving families racing from office to office to find out where their relatives had been taken. That confusion, paired with what advocates describe as a drip of information from federal agencies, made it even harder for Mohamed’s relatives to track him as his case moved across multiple jurisdictions. As reported by WFAE.
Omar urged her mother to file a habeas petition quickly, worried that if Mohamed was sent to another district it would be even tougher to get him in front of a judge. The family also turned to the office of U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis for help. In a May 21, 2026 letter on official letterhead, the family says staff for the senator confirmed what they had feared: Mohamed could not be found in the U.S. system. As reported by The Charlotte Observer.
Court Orders and Policy Shifts Did Not Always Arrive in Time
All of this played out while the federal government’s moves on Temporary Protected Status for Somalia were tied up in court. In mid-March 2026, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued an emergency stay of Somalia’s TPS termination, which temporarily preserved protections for some Somali nationals. Advocates and attorneys say the timing shows how quickly on-the-ground enforcement can outrun legal challenges. See the practice alert for the March 13 court stay from AILA.
Advocates compare Mohamed’s experience to patterns seen in other large enforcement surges, where detainees were moved across state lines and deported so quickly that families and lawyers struggled to file court challenges in time. A recent report on Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota found widespread transfers and a spike in removals that made tracking detainees and securing legal access far more difficult for many people in custody. Human Rights Watch.
Back in Charlotte, community groups and legal hotlines say the uncertainty has eroded trust and left families scrambling to find attorneys, draft habeas petitions and document injuries. Omar and other relatives have leaned on lawyers and local organizers while juggling jobs and caregiving, and neighborhood leaders are still pressing DHS and ICE for clearer, faster information. As reported by WFAE.
Legal Implications
Legal experts say Mohamed’s case highlights the limits of the current system. Judges are seeing a wave of habeas petitions that flag questionable transfers, delayed notice and other obstacles to meaningful review, yet courts and attorneys warn that government noncompliance and rapid removals can blunt any relief those petitions are supposed to offer. For a running picture of recent habeas filings and related court findings, see Just Security.
For the Omar family, the work ahead is immediate and painfully practical: secure medical care for their uncle, protect a record of his injuries and keep pressing federal agencies and elected officials for clear answers about what happened and why. Their case is a reminder that when enforcement moves fast, the people left on the ground often have to chase across courts, agencies and borders just to keep their families together.
