Detroit Judge Mulls Request to Protect 1,400 Iraqis From Immediate Deportation
Tresa Baldas
Detroit Free Press
12:40 p.m. ET June 26, 2017
A federal judge in Detroit is considering a request to protect 1,444 Iraqi immigrants nationwide from being immediately deported, including some who could be removed from the U.S. as early as tomorrow.
U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith heard arguments this morning on a motion filed over the weekend asking him to extend temporary protection to all potential deportees nationwide. A decision could come as early as today.
Last Thursday, Goldsmith granted temporary protection to 114 Iraqi immigrants from metro Detroit, giving them two more weeks to remain here to pursue their cases.
The advocates, along with the ACLU, fear the immigrants, many of them Iraqi Christians, could face persecution in Iraq -- either tortured or killed -- and deserve more time to argue their cases. According to immigration advocates, another 85 Iraqi immigrants nationwide have been arrested and face deportation orders, including some that could be sent back to Iraq as early as Tuesday.
"It’s the government that’s hurrying these people toward deportation," attorney Margo Schlanger, a lawyer for the Iraqi detainees, argued in court today, claiming the government isn't giving the immigrants enough time to find lawyers and seek legal relief.
At issue is the June 11 arrests of numerous Iraqi nationals by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. According to ICE, all but two of the 114 arrested in Michigan had criminal convictions; the other two have pending criminal charges. Nationwide, ICE has said, 1,444 Iraqi nationals are facing final orders for removal, though not all have been detained.
Following the June 11 arrests in Michigan, a lawsuit was filed against ICE by immigration and civil rights advocates who are hoping to block the deportation efforts.
In court today, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Newby argued against granting protection to the entire group of potential Iraqi deportees, saying they all have criminal backgrounds of some sort and don't have a legal right to be here anyway. Moreover, she argued that Goldsmith doesn't have jurisdiction to decide immigration matters that belong in immigration court, and that this case shouldn't be granted class action status.
Specifically, Newby said that not all of the Iraqi immigrants are similarly situated, noting some have been convicted of crimes more serious than others and that the immigration courts should decide these cases on an individualized bases. She also argues that the detainees likely won't win their arguments before immigration courts.
Immigration advocates disagreed and last week convinced Goldsmith that all potential Iraqi deportees -- many of them Christians -- deserve more time to state their cases.
"Irreparable harm is made out by the significant chance of loss of life and lesser forms of persecution that petitioners have substantiated," Goldsmith wrote in his ruling. "The public interest is also better served by an orderly court process that assures that petitioners' invocation of federal court relief is considered before the removal process continues."
Goldsmith said he will issue a written opinion on today's request. He did not specify when.
ICE has previously said it will comply with the judge's order and has maintained that its actions to deport Iraqi immigrants are warranted an dlegal.
As Rebecca Adducci, field office director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Detroit, stated:
"The operation in this region was specifically conducted to address the very real public safety threat represented by the criminal aliens arrested. The vast majority of those arrested in the Detroit metropolitan area have very serious felony convictions, multiple felony convictions in many cases. I applaud the efforts of the law enforcement personnel who, day in and day out, put their lives on the line to protect this community."
The June 11 arrests by ICE sparked protests in metro Detroit by supporters who say the Iraqis would face persecution in Iraq 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.
Attorneys for the Iraqis, meanwhile, have been filing appeals for the detainees in immigration and local county courts.
“We are thankful and relieved that our clients will not be immediately be sent to Iraq, where they face grave danger of persecution, torture or death," Michael Steinberg, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, has previously stated. "It would be unconstitutional and unconscionable to deport these individuals without giving them an opportunity to demonstrate the harm that awaits them in Iraq."
Detroit Free Press
12:40 p.m. ET June 26, 2017
A federal judge in Detroit is considering a request to protect 1,444 Iraqi immigrants nationwide from being immediately deported, including some who could be removed from the U.S. as early as tomorrow.
U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith heard arguments this morning on a motion filed over the weekend asking him to extend temporary protection to all potential deportees nationwide. A decision could come as early as today.
Last Thursday, Goldsmith granted temporary protection to 114 Iraqi immigrants from metro Detroit, giving them two more weeks to remain here to pursue their cases.
The advocates, along with the ACLU, fear the immigrants, many of them Iraqi Christians, could face persecution in Iraq -- either tortured or killed -- and deserve more time to argue their cases. According to immigration advocates, another 85 Iraqi immigrants nationwide have been arrested and face deportation orders, including some that could be sent back to Iraq as early as Tuesday.
"It’s the government that’s hurrying these people toward deportation," attorney Margo Schlanger, a lawyer for the Iraqi detainees, argued in court today, claiming the government isn't giving the immigrants enough time to find lawyers and seek legal relief.
At issue is the June 11 arrests of numerous Iraqi nationals by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. According to ICE, all but two of the 114 arrested in Michigan had criminal convictions; the other two have pending criminal charges. Nationwide, ICE has said, 1,444 Iraqi nationals are facing final orders for removal, though not all have been detained.
Following the June 11 arrests in Michigan, a lawsuit was filed against ICE by immigration and civil rights advocates who are hoping to block the deportation efforts.
In court today, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Newby argued against granting protection to the entire group of potential Iraqi deportees, saying they all have criminal backgrounds of some sort and don't have a legal right to be here anyway. Moreover, she argued that Goldsmith doesn't have jurisdiction to decide immigration matters that belong in immigration court, and that this case shouldn't be granted class action status.
Specifically, Newby said that not all of the Iraqi immigrants are similarly situated, noting some have been convicted of crimes more serious than others and that the immigration courts should decide these cases on an individualized bases. She also argues that the detainees likely won't win their arguments before immigration courts.
Immigration advocates disagreed and last week convinced Goldsmith that all potential Iraqi deportees -- many of them Christians -- deserve more time to state their cases.
"Irreparable harm is made out by the significant chance of loss of life and lesser forms of persecution that petitioners have substantiated," Goldsmith wrote in his ruling. "The public interest is also better served by an orderly court process that assures that petitioners' invocation of federal court relief is considered before the removal process continues."
Goldsmith said he will issue a written opinion on today's request. He did not specify when.
ICE has previously said it will comply with the judge's order and has maintained that its actions to deport Iraqi immigrants are warranted an dlegal.
As Rebecca Adducci, field office director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Detroit, stated:
"The operation in this region was specifically conducted to address the very real public safety threat represented by the criminal aliens arrested. The vast majority of those arrested in the Detroit metropolitan area have very serious felony convictions, multiple felony convictions in many cases. I applaud the efforts of the law enforcement personnel who, day in and day out, put their lives on the line to protect this community."
The June 11 arrests by ICE sparked protests in metro Detroit by supporters who say the Iraqis would face persecution in Iraq 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.
Attorneys for the Iraqis, meanwhile, have been filing appeals for the detainees in immigration and local county courts.
“We are thankful and relieved that our clients will not be immediately be sent to Iraq, where they face grave danger of persecution, torture or death," Michael Steinberg, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, has previously stated. "It would be unconstitutional and unconscionable to deport these individuals without giving them an opportunity to demonstrate the harm that awaits them in Iraq."
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