Detroit, Michigan, June 21, 2017© Jim West / Global Look Press
ishtartv.com - rt.com
23
Jun, 2017
A
federal court judge has temporarily halted the deportation of more than 100
Iraqi Christians living in the Detroit area who were detained in raids by
federal agents. Many of them fear torture and possible death if sent back to
Iraq.
US
District Judge Mark Goldsmith said in a written order on Thursday that
deportation is halted for two weeks as he determines whether the court has
jurisdiction.
Judge
Goldsmith agreed the Iraqis, many of them Christian, could face persecution in
Iraq, and so they should be allowed to stay until the court can make a further
ruling.
Attorneys
for 114 Iraqi immigrants and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of
Michigan cheered the judge’s decision, according
to the Detroit News.
In a
statement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said it will comply with
the order.
One
of the attorney's Clarence Dass told RT lawyers have 14 days to file individual
motions for all of their clients and get hearings in the interim.
The
vast majority of the people rounded up in raids, Dass explained, left Iraq 20
or 30 years ago and lack fundamental documentation that would make them
legitimate residents of Iraq, such as birth certificates and passports.
The
ACLU of Michigan had filed
a class-action lawsuit on June 15 to halt federal immigration officials from
deporting more than 100 Iraqi nationals rounded up by federal agents. The ACLU
argued it’s illegal to deport the detainees without giving them an opportunity
to prove they could face torture or death if returned to Iraq.
The
ACLU also filed a motion asking the court for a restraining order of the people
held in custody until it’s determined whether they are entitled to protection.
Judge
Goldsmith heard arguments on Wednesday. Goldsmith did not make a final
determination on the lawsuit, which was filed against Immigration and Customs
Enforcement.
Goldsmith
said that "the court is unsure whether it has subject-matter
jurisdiction," according to Detroit News.
Dass
told RT the court fight is likely to be the first to resolve the issue of
jurisdiction as there doesn’t appear be legal precedent.
More
than 114 Iraqis, many Chaldean Christians, were arrested by federal immigration
officials in raids on June 11 in the Detroit metropolitan area.
The
arrests sparked protests in Metro Detroit by supporters who say the Iraqis
would face persecution in their homeland since many of them are Christians.
Almost 200 Iraqi nationals with criminal records have been arrested recently
nationwide by federal immigration agents.
ICE
has defended the arrests, saying the Iraqis arrested all had criminal
backgrounds and final orders of deportation from an immigration judge.
One
of the questions is how deportation will work to a country that is embroiled in
war, where towns like Mosul are occupied by Islamic State (IS, formerly
ISIS/ISIL).
“The
biggest concern here is the vast majority of the Chaldeans, Syrians and
Christians come from what is known as ISIS territory. The city of Mosul, which
is the largest Christian village in Iraq, was the first raided by ISIS. Their
Christian brethren have left these areas,” Dass told RT. “For them to
return for sure will be to face discrimination, torture, if not the death
penalty when they get there.”
Dass
said a lot of these people wear their Christian faith on their bodies in the
form of tattoos, with scriptures on their wrists, or crosses on their forearms.
“They
are a very religious people.“
Dass
said he had two clients that contacted him when the Trump administration first
announced its immigration policy. That client base has ballooned to 23 since
the raids.
Dass
said he was surprised the Chaldeans were targeted as a week before Congress had
passed a resolution recognizing there was a genocide underway against
Chaldeans, the Syrian Christians, and Christians in Iraq.
“Just
one week prior our federal government declared religious discrimination against
this group,” Dass remarked. “A week later they round up the same group and
are attempting to send them back to the same place where genocide is occurring,
so it was very ironic.”
Chaldeans
are an Iraqi indigenous community and speak Aramaic. The Chaldean Catholic
Church is an Eastern Catholic Church and uses the East Syrian rite.
The
Chaldean Catholic community in Detroit dates back to the early 20th century.
There are about 150,000 Chaldeans in the Detroit area, which is the largest
Chaldean diaspora community living outside the Middle East, according to the
Chaldean Community Foundation.
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