U.S. judge halts deportation of Chaldean Catholics and Iraqi Kurds
Baghdad agreed in March to accept deportees as part of a deal that removed the country from Trump's revised temporary travel ban on people from six Muslim-majority countries.
DETROIT, United States (Kurdistan 24) - More than 1,400 Iraqi nationals facing deportation were given an extended time on Monday after a judge in Michigan granted a preliminary injunction.
U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith accepted a request made by American Civil Liberties Union lawyers who argued deportation would endanger clients' life because Chaldean Catholics, Sunni Muslims, or Iraqi Kurds were recognized as targets of ill-treatment in Iraq.
Goldsmith wrote, in his 34-page opinion and order, the extra time assures "that those who might be subjected to grave harm and possible death are not cast out of this country before having their day in court."
About 199 of Iraqi national facing deportation were detained in June when U.S. immigration authorities started sweeping aliens with a criminal record.
The Chaldeans were staunch supporters of Trump during his campaign for the presidency. This meant they felt safe after his election.
During the campaign, Trump frequently spoke out in favor of protecting Christians in the Middle East.
In January he tweeted: “Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue!”
All the potential deportees have a criminal record. Their crimes range from relatively minor ones such as overstaying a visa or selling pot to second-degree murder.
Some of those affected came to the United States as children and committed their crimes decades ago but were allowed to stay because Baghdad refused to issue them travel documents.
But Baghdad agreed in March to accept deportees as part of a deal that removed the country from Trump's revised temporary travel ban on people from six Muslim-majority countries.