Federal Court Blocks Immediate Deportation of Iraqi Nationals

DETROIT — A federal court has blocked the immediate deportation of Iraqi nationals arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier this month.

The American Civil Liberties Union successfully sought the temporary restraining order, arguing those individuals should have an opportunity to prove their lives would be in danger if they were returned to Iraq.

“The court took a life-saving action by blocking our clients from being immediately sent back to Iraq,” said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, who argued the case. “They should have a chance to show that their lives are in jeopardy if forced to return.”

The ACLU challenged the government after ICE agents arrested more than 100 Iraqis —including many who’ve been in the U.S. for decades — in recent raids throughout metropolitan Detroit. Those arrested include Christians and Muslims, all at risk of persecution in Iraq.

“We are thankful and relieved that our clients will not be immediately sent to Iraq, where they face grave danger of persecution, torture or death. It would be unconstitutional and unconscionable to deport these individuals without giving them an opportunity to demonstrate the harm that awaits them in Iraq,” said Michael Steinberg, legal director of the ACLU of Michigan.

The case was argued in the U.S. District Court/Eastern Michigan District.

The ruling is at: https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/hamama-v-adducci-ruling

More information is at: https://www.aclu.org/cases/hamama-v-adducci