Advocates plead: Let Iraqis stay in USA
Court ruling means up to 1,000 could be deported
DETROIT – Chaldeans and elected officials in metro Detroit asked the U.S. government to block the deportations of up to 1,000 Iraqi nationals.
After a federal appeals court ruled against the Iraqis this month in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Iraqi American Christians and their supporters in Congress and the Michigan Legislature mobilized to lobby the Department of Homeland Security to halt the removal of Iraqis with criminal records.
The decision by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals went into effect Tuesday, which means many Iraqis could be deported at any time.
Martin Manna, president of the Chaldean Community Foundation in Sterling Heights, Michigan, met with members of Congress in Washington in an effort to craft legislation that could halt the deportation.
“For many people, this may be life or death,” Manna told the Free Press. “All we ask is they get additional time to get their due process in courts . ... They will likely face persecution in Iraq.”
Four House members, three of them from Michigan, sent a letter to Vice President Mike Pence asking him to help block the deportation. Some legislators worked on a potential bill that would ask the Trump administration to halt deportations based on a policy known as Deferred Enforced Departure previously used to halt the deportations of Liberian immigrants.
“In the past, Vice President Pence has advocated for the protection of persecuted Christians abroad, so it would make sense to pursue his partnership on this issue,” said U.S. Rep. Andy Levin, D-Mich., whose district in metro Detroit has a sizable number of Iraqi Americans. “Iraqi nationals of all religious backgrounds facing deportation could receive a knock on the door ... and be deported to Iraq before an immigration court has the chance to individually hear cases. We are growing this bipartisan coalition swiftly, and we are involving all players who have an interest in securing fair and humane treatment for Iraqi nationals.”
The other congressional representatives who signed the letter sent April 9 to Pence were John Moolenaar, R-Mich.; Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich.; and Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb.
“We write to urge you to halt the wholesale detention and deportation of Iraqis living in the United States, including numerous Iraqi Christians and other religious and ethnic minorities,” the letter says.
It refers to a separate letter sent by 23 members of Congress – led by Levin and Moolenaar – to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Acting Director of ICE Ronald Vitello. Nielsen has since resigned, and President Donald Trump announced Vitello will not continue as head of ICE.
Levin said the two leaving their positions makes it all the more urgent that Pence help advocate for the Iraqis.
In Michigan, Republican state Sen. Jim Runestad offered a resolution last week that expresses opposition to “the mass deportation of Iraqi nationals in Michigan and the United States.”
It says: “Iraqi nationals complement our American society with a proven history of contributing to the economic and social well-being of this nation.
Metro Detroit has the largest concentration of Chaldeans outside of Iraq, a population of business owners, employees, and families that is indispensable to the local economy.”
A copy of the resolution was sent to ICE. Khaalid Walls, a spokesman for ICE, said, “Any potential agency response to this correspondence would come through the appropriate channels.”
In an earlier statement after the court’s ruling allowing deportations, ICE Detroit Field Office Director Rebecca Adducci said, “This decision is a decisive victory further vindicating ICE’s efforts to remove these aliens, many of whom had criminal convictions, to Iraq.”
The Iraqi nationals came to the USA legally, but because they have criminal records, are eligible for deportation. Their crimes include marijuana possession to assault and murder.