the state of maryland, before the prosecuting attorneys, before even michael shannon knew she'd been released from prison. >> were you notified? >> no. no. the office was not notified that she'd been paroled, nor that there would be any action taken by immigration officials at the time. >> reporter: if you're wondering how that could have happened, you're not alone. the state department told cnn it doesn't interfere in deportation cases, that is up to the u.s. immigration service. and no one from immigration has returned multiple phone calls and e-mails, asking for comment. michael shannon hired the lawyer who arguably knows more about international child abduction than anyone in the country, who believes the u.s. government not only has done nothing to help, it may have expedited afaf khalifa's deportation. >> these are american boys, american citizens. they're not entitled to be egyptian citizens. and they've been held in a foreign country for 12 years,