Deportation of Iraqis Halted by Judge

A Detroit judge has blocked the possible deportation of Iraqi immigrants with criminal records who were taken into custody last month by federal immigration officers. On Monday, US District Judge, Mark Goldsmith, approved a request for a preliminary injunction by the Iraqi nationals’ lawyers to halt their deportation. He agreed with their argument that they would face persecution in their home country.

The case entailed ‘extraordinary circumstances’, according to Goldsmith’s written decision, acknowledging that the cases of the Iraqi nationals had been dormant for many years before they were faced with the prospect of deportation. Goldsmith added that habeas corpus cannot be suspended except in rare events, such as domestic rebellion, or foreign invasion, and that their constitutional rights have been violated.

The attorneys applauded Goldsmith’s decision. Clarence Dass, who is representing around 25 of the 115 Iraqi nationals arrested in Michigan by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in June, said the result was precisely the relief that they had been hoping for and gave them the chance to be heard. Dass described the injunction, which will last 90 days, as a ‘lifeline’, with the judge’s decision allowing them time to show that deportation for these individuals would be a death sentence.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stated before that the immigrants’ concerned pose a safety threat to the American public and have already had their day in court – it made no comment on the new ruling.