A Jordanian national who was acting erratically and caught with multiple Molotov cocktails in a Chicago suburb is now in federal immigration custody.
Hamed M. Alsaidi, 31, who had previously been deemed an inadmissible alien, was taken into federal custody following his pretrial release under Illinois’ SAFE-T Act.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Alsaidi on Aug. 4 after local police in Will County, Ill., arrested him and then a local judge let him out of jail. He was first encountered by Mokena police looking for an open gas station in the early morning hours of Aug. 1.
Local authorities refused to honor ICE’s detainer request due to sanctuary policies, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said. He illegally crossed the California border in March 2024 and was released by the Biden administration.
According to local reports, Alsaidi, of Hickory Hills, faces charges in Will County for possessing Molotov cocktails and giving a fake name to an officer.
Will County prosecutors noted, “He has an active order of protection listing residents and addresses in Orland Park. He has twice been determined to be an inadmissible alien, once in 2024 and again in 2025, making him a flight risk.”
🚨MORE EXCLUSIVE DETAILS ON MUSLIM JIHADIST ARRESTED IN ILLINOIS
DHS confirmed to us that the man arrested with Molotov cocktails and a map, is an ILLEGAL ALIEN from Jordan and who RELEASED into our country by the Biden admin
Hamed Mohammed Alsaidi was released into our county… https://t.co/JxCUDNFsFl pic.twitter.com/2miJTTADTQ
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 5, 2026
Alsaidi is charged locally with felony unlawful possession of a weapon and misdemeanor obstructing identification and remains in ICE custody. His criminal history includes a prior arrest for domestic battery, DHS said.
ICE lodged a detainer with Will County Jail the same day Alsaidi was arrested, but Will County Judge Theodore Jarz granted Alsaidi a pretrial release on Aug. 2 with GPS electronic monitoring.
Will County, a major southwest suburban county of Chicago, includes the communities of Joliet, Bolingbrook, Mokena and Plainfield.
“Governor J.B. Pritzker and his fellow sanctuary politicians need to stop putting American lives at risk with their reckless, America Last policies,” DHS officials said in a news release.
Mokena Police Department shared on Facebook that officers first encountered Alsaidi shortly before 3 a.m. Aug. 1.
Mokena police officers saw him at a Speedway gas station while the business was closed, according to a court filing from the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Officers noted he was displaying “suspicious behavior” and told him he could not be there and took him to another gas station that was open. He gave the officers an alias of Hakmat Saidi, DHS officials said.
Several hours later, Mokena police arrested him after he was walking in the street and provided officers a false name. At the time, he had a blue blanket and a backpack.
“He was arrested for being in the roadway and obstructing officers by providing officers the false name,” the MPD post states. “A search of his backpack revealed several bottles filled with gasoline and stuffed with rags (Molotov cocktails).”
Prosecutors said they had “gauze stuffed in the top as a wick. [Six] were 12-ounce bottles and [two] were liter-sized bottles.”
Alsaidi also had a written map of the area, including a local train station, and the words “you see the mosque” written down, which appeared to be the Prayer Center of Orland Park, prosecutors said.
Mokena police called the State Fire Marshalls Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the FBI to assist in the investigation.
Alsaidi’s release is the latest in a long line of criminal illegal immigrants either arrested or convicted of crimes who are allowed back into Illinois’ communities.
According to previously released DHS data, Illinois’ failure to honor ICE detainers resulted in the release of roughly 1,800 criminal illegal immigrants between Jan. 20, 2025, and December 2025.
Illinois House Republicans also shared news of Alsaidi’s arrest on Facebook, adding: “Sanctuary state policies continue to put our communities at risk. …Illinois policies should put the safety of our citizens first—not make it easier for dangerous individuals to return to our communities.”
Illinois state laws, including the TRUST Act and the Way Forward Act, generally prohibit local and state law enforcement from honoring ICE detainers or transferring inmates to federal immigration authorities unless a formal judicial criminal warrant is presented.
Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers in the state continue to press for more restrictions on ICE agents and where they can make arrests as well as operate detention facilities.
House Bill 5024 was signed into law Friday. Led by Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, the law bars federal immigration detention centers near schools, homes and churches.
