Know Your Value</s>Detroit: A US judge on Tuesday ruled that the government cannot immediately deport nearly 200 Iraqi immigrants arrested last month who argued they would face persecution if they were removed from the country.

US District Judge Mark Goldsmith in Michigan said he had the authority to order the government to keep the Iraqis in the county while their deportation cases were reviewed by the courts.

In his ruling, Goldsmith said sending the Iraqis back now would expose them to a “substantiated risk of death, torture, or other grave persecution before their legal claims can be tested in a court.”

Many of the 199 Iraqis detained – largely in the Detroit area but also in Tennessee, New Mexico and California – were Chaldean Catholics and Iraqi Kurds. Both groups said they could be targeted for attacks in Iraq because they are visible minorities. The government is seeking to deport over 1,400 Iraqis across the country, the ruling said.

The actions are part of Trump administration efforts to increase immigration enforcement and make countries take back nationals ordered out of the US.

The Iraqis arrested by immigration authorities had outstanding deportation orders and many had been convicted of serious crimes, ranging from homicide to weapons and drug charges, according to the US government.

Goldsmith said federal courts were “first responders” if constitutional rights were under threat and the Iraqis’ extraordinary circumstances gave him the power to block their deportation.

A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment.

The department has argued that only immigration courts have the authority to decide the Iraqis’ status.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the Iraqis, said in a statement: “Federal courts must be able to ensure that the government acts according to the law, particularly where people’s lives are at stake.”

Some of those arrested committed crimes decades ago and had been allowed to remain in the US because Iraq until recently refused to issue them travel documents.

That changed after Baghdad agreed in March to accept US deportees as part of a deal to remove the country from President Donald Trump’s revised temporary travel ban.

In a statement, Michigan representative Sander Levin, a Democrat, applauded Goldsmith’s ruling, saying it would give courts time “to learn all of the facts related to these individuals.”

Goldsmith scheduled a hearing for Thursday on the next steps in the litigation.

(Reuters)</s>Federal judge halts deportation of 1,400 Iraqi nationals, many Christians, while courts review orders to remove them.</s>DETROIT (WWJ) – The case involving Iraqi nationals who are fighting deportation will be heard by a federal judge in Detroit.

An opinion issued Tuesday evening says both sides are right in part, but under the law, the federal district courts are generally the “first responders” when rights guaranteed by the Constitution require protection.

Lawyers for the government and those facing deportation will be back in federal court Thursday afternoon to discuss a preliminary injunction that would keep the government from deporting those taken into custody last month.

In mid-June – the American Civil Liberties Union filed a class-action lawsuit seeking to stop the government from deporting more than 100 Iraqi nationals rounded up in raids by ICE.

The ACLU contends most of the 114 Iraqis arrested in are Chaldean Christians but that there are also some Shiite Muslims and Christian converts. It says they all fear violent retribution, if deported.

ICE has said that all of those arrested had criminal convictions, including for murder, rape and drug trafficking, and were ordered deported by an immigration judge after “full and fair” proceedings.</s>Federal judge halts deportation of 1,400 Iraqis from US

Washington DC, Jul 11 (EFE).- A federal judge in the United States halted on Tuesday the deportation of more than 1,400 Iraqis, many of whom are Christians, who argued they would face persecution if expelled from the United States.

Some of the 1,400 Iraqis have faced deportation orders for years, even decades, but Iraq’s refusal to accept them allowed them to remain in the United States.

Their situation, however, changed in March, when Iraq agreed to receive them following a deal sealed by new US President Donald Trump.

Although the majority of the 1,400 Iraqis remain at large, immigration officials arrested 199 of them in June, largely in Detroit (Michigan) and Nashville (Tennessee), with the intention of deporting them immediately.

According to the US authorities they committed serious crimes, ranging from homicides to crimes related to drugs or weapons.

Those arrested, however, filed a joint lawsuit with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the country’s leading civil rights organization, to halt their deportation.

They claimed that because of their status as minorities (as many of them are Chaldean Catholics and Iraqi Kurds) they would be at risk of persecution.

In his ruling, Judge Mark Goldsmith said deporting Iraqis would expose them to “a substantiated risk of death, torture or other serious persecution before their legal claims can be tested in a court.”

However, the Justice Department, which has not yet reacted to the ruling, argued that Goldsmith, appointed by former President Barack Obama, has no power to make such decisions.</s>(Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday ruled that the government cannot immediately deport nearly 200 Iraqi immigrants arrested last month who argued they would face persecution if they were removed from the country.

U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith in Michigan said he had the authority to order the government to keep the Iraqis in the county while their deportation cases proceeded in immigration court.

Many of 199 Iraqis detained - largely in the Detroit area and in Nashville - were Chaldean Catholics and Iraqi Kurds. Both groups say they could be targeted for attacks in Iraq because they are visible minorities.

Those arrested by immigration authorities had outstanding deportation orders and many had been convicted of serious crimes, ranging from homicide to weapons and drug charges, according to the U.S. government.

In his ruling, Goldsmith said sending the Iraqis back now would expose them to a "substantiated risk of death, torture, or other grave persecution before their legal claims can be tested in a court."

Some of those arrested came to the United States as children and committed their crimes decades ago, but they had been allowed to stay because Iraq previously declined to issue them travel documents.

That changed after Iraq agreed in March to start accepting U.S. deportees as part of a deal that removed the country from President Donald Trump's revised temporary travel ban.[nL1N1J90JG]</s>A federal judge in Detroit has stopped the deportation of 1,400 Iraqi nationals while their deportation orders are reviewed by the court system.

U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith halted the deportations of the nationals, many of whom are Christians, after he asserted jurisdiction over the objection by the Justice Department in a 24-page opinion Tuesday.

The judge blocked the deportations for two weeks on June 22 while he determined if he had the jurisdiction over the case. The Justice Department has insisted that a U.S. District Court judge does not have jurisdiction in the immigration matter.

Many of the Iraqis fear torture or death if they return to the country. The government says the nationals face deportation because they committed crimes in the U.S.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>REUTERS: A U.S. judge on Tuesday ruled that the government cannot immediately deport nearly 200 Iraqi immigrants who were arrested last month and argued they would face persecution if they were removed from the country.

U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith in Michigan said he had the authority to order the government to keep the Iraqis in the county while their deportation cases proceeded in immigration court.</s>DETROIT (AP) - A federal judge has halted the deportation of 1,400 Iraqi nationals, many of them Christians, while the orders to remove them from the U.S. are reviewed by the courts.

U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith issued a 24-page opinion Tuesday asserting jurisdiction in the case over the objection of the Justice Department. He scheduled a Wednesday hearing to discuss matters in the case.

Goldsmith earlier blocked the deportations while he considered whether he had jurisdiction over the case. The Justice Department insists a U.S. District Court judge doesn’t have jurisdiction in the immigration matter.

Many of the Iraqis, including 114 rounded up in the Detroit area last month, fear torture or death if returned to Iraq. The government says they face deportation because they committed crimes in the U.S.</s>DETROIT — A federal judge Tuesday halted the deportation of 1,400 Iraqi nationals, including many Christians fearing persecution, while courts review the orders to remove them from the U.S.

Judge Mark Goldsmith issued a 24-page opinion asserting jurisdiction in the case over the objection of the Justice Department, which argued U.S. district judges do not have jurisdiction.

"This Court concludes that to enforce the Congressional mandate that district courts lack jurisdiction — despite the compelling context of this case — would expose Petitioners to the substantiated risk of death, torture, or other grave persecution before their legal claims can be tested in a court," Goldsmith wrote in a 24-page opinion.

Goldsmith earlier blocked the deportations while he considered whether he had jurisdiction over the case.

Related: Members of Iraqi Religious Minority Who Supported Trump Detained by ICE

Many of the Iraqis, including 114 rounded up in the Detroit area last month who are mostly Christians, fear attacks over their religion if returned to Iraq. The government says they face deportation because they committed crimes in the U.S.

Goldsmith earlier extended a ruling suspending the deportation of the 114 while he considered jurisdiction to all Iraqi nationals in the U.S.

The U.S. government said 1,400 Iraqis are under deportation orders nationwide, though most are not in custody. Some have been under orders for years because they committed crimes in the U.S. But legal action over deportations took on new urgency because Iraq has agreed to accept them.

The American Civil Liberties Union said a suspension is necessary so Iraqi nationals can go to immigration court and argue that their lives would be in jeopardy if returned to their native country. Without some intervention, the ACLU contends that people could be deported before their case is called.

Goldsmith scheduled a Wednesday hearing to discuss several matters in the case, including a request from the Iraqis for a preliminary injunction barring the deportations.
A U.S. federal judge halts the possible deportation of Iraqi Chaldean Christian refugees until further review.