Detained Iraqis say release saved their lives

Two Iraqis detainees — sprung after several tense hours at Kennedy Airport in the wake of President Trump’s executive order barring refugees — say the decision to release them has saved their lives.

“I suffered to move here, to get my family here . . . I can’t go back,” Hameed Khalid Darweesh, 53, said.

Asked if he’d be killed in Iraq, he answered: “Yes, yes.”

Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, 33, were both marked for death back home after they or their family members worked with American forces.

Both men had waited two years for permission to come to the United States — only to be plucked out at JFK and held for hours Saturday as Customs officials put them through “extreme vetting.”

Alshawi credited protesters for his release. “Without this pressure I believe I would have to return” to Iraq, said Alshawi. He hasn’t seen his wife or son in three years.

“I’m going to hug them for a long time,” Alshawi said.

One protester chirped, “Welcome to New York!” as Darweesh was released midday Saturday.

“This is humanity. This is the soul of America,” Darweesh said. “This is what pushed me to leave my country and come here and I’m very, very thankful to all the people who came to support me.”

His first request: a cigarette.

“I didn’t smoke for 50 hours,” he said, laughing as he lit it up.

The longtime interpreter for the Army was heading to Charlotte, NC, with his wife and kids when Customs agents stopped him.

Asked about Trump, Darweesh said cautiously, “I like him, but I don’t know. This is the policy. He is the president.”