WASHINGTON — A blue state and the former Biden Administration unleashed a potentially explosive illegal into America, and after he wandered all the way into neighboring Illinois, ICE nabbed this Jordanian national as cops there arrested him with eight alleged Molotov cocktails and a written map, according to federal officials and court records.
Hamed Mohammed Hamed Alsaidi (pictured at top), 31, was arrested by ICE on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, two days after a Will County judge granted him pretrial release in an Illinois criminal case.
The case began early Saturday, August 1, when Mokena police encountered Alsaidi at a closed gas station.
Authorities said he initially gave officers the name “Hakmat Saidi” and was transported to another gas station that was open.
Later that morning, police reportedly encountered him walking in traffic on 191st Street and detained him.
Prosecutors said officers then discovered his true identity and found eight Molotov cocktails among his belongings. Six were described as 12-ounce bottles and two as liter-sized bottles, with gauze inserted into the tops as wicks.
Authorities also said Alsaidi possessed a handwritten map of the area that included the Metra train station and a reference to a mosque.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was brought into the investigation, along with the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office. The FBI was also notified.
Alsaidi was charged in Illinois with felony unlawful possession of a weapon and misdemeanor obstructing identification.
Will County Judge Theodore Jarz granted him pretrial release Sunday, August 2, under conditions that reportedly included GPS monitoring and confinement to a residence.
The Department of Homeland Security said ICE had lodged an immigration detainer following Alsaidi’s arrest but Will County authorities did not hold him for federal immigration agents.
ICE arrested him August 4.
“This criminal illegal alien was arrested after he was found to have EIGHT Molotov cocktails in his possession and gave a false name to officers,” DHS said in announcing the arrest.
DHS sharply criticized Illinois officials for releasing Alsaidi despite the immigration detainer.
Federal records provide additional background on his immigration history.
A federal court ruling issued in April states that Alsaidi entered the United States near Otay Mesa, California, around March 30, 2024, without inspection and was apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
DHS served him with a notice to appear in immigration court and released him on his own recognizance on March 31, 2024, while removal proceedings remained pending.
Alsaidi later applied for asylum and withholding of removal.
Federal authorities arrested him again in December 2025, and he was subsequently detained in Kentucky. In April 2026, a federal judge ruled that he was entitled either to release or a constitutionally adequate immigration bond hearing.
That history provides more detail than DHS’s characterization that Alsaidi was simply “released into the country by the Biden Administration.”
The latest arrest comes amid an ongoing national dispute over immigration detainers and so-called sanctuary jurisdictions. NIT has extensively covered ICE arrests and federal immigration enforcement actions as the Trump administration has expanded removals and enforcement operations nationwide.
Alsaidi remains in ICE custody, according to DHS.
The Illinois criminal charges are allegations. Alsaidi is presumed innocent of those charges unless convicted.