Body of deported Iraqi who died in Baghdad returned to US

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The body of a 41-year-old Iraqi who died in Baghdad after he was deported from the United States arrived in Detroit on Friday.

Jimmy Aldaoud, an Iraqi Christian with serious mental health issues, who knew no Arabic, and who had never been to Iraq, was found dead in Baghdad in early August, two months after US immigration officials deported him.

Andy Levin, a Democrat who represents the Michigan district, said Aldaoud died of a “diabetic crisis.” Levin coordinated with authorities in Iraq and Michigan to secure the return of the victim’s body.

The Chaldean Community Foundation, a social services organization based in Michigan, funded the transfer of his remains from Iraq to the US, the New York Times reported.

A private funeral will be held for the 41-year-old next week, it added.

Aldaoud was born in Greece while his parents were in the process of being granted asylum in the US. He arrived in the US when he was only six months old and grew up in Detroit, Michigan.

Related Article: Iraqi Christian who had never been to Iraq deported by US, found dead in Baghdad

In the summer of 2017, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rounded up hundreds of Iraqis it planned to deport, largely in Michigan. Some had past criminal convictions, some only had visa issues, but the average final deportation orders were over a decade old.

ICE announced then that as many as 1,400 Iraqis were authorized to be deported back to Iraq, many of whom, like Aldaoud, came to the US as young children and have limited Arabic language skills.

Aldaoud had a history of paranoid schizophrenia and received his deportation order as a result of a criminal conviction.