the Iraqi nationals facing deportation in a closely watched case.
U.S.
District Judge Mark Goldsmith granted a preliminary injunction requested by
American Civil Liberties Union lawyers, who argued the immigrants would face
persecution in Iraq because they are considered ethnic and religious minorities
there.
Goldsmith
said the injunction provides detainees time to challenge their removal in
federal courts. He said many of them faced "a feverish search for legal
assistance" after their deportation orders were unexpectedly resurrected
by the U.S. government after several years.
Goldsmith
wrote, in his 34-page opinion and order, the extra time assures "that
those who might be subjected to grave harm and possible death are not cast out
of this country before having their day in court."
The decision
effectively means no Iraqi nationals can be deported from the United States for
several months.
It was not
immediately known whether the U.S. government would appeal. A representative
for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit was not immediately available for
comment.
There are
1,444 Iraqi nationals who have final deportation orders against them in the
U.S., although only about 199 of them were detained in June as part of a
nationwide sweep by immigration authorities.
The ACLU
sued on June 15 to halt the deportations, arguing the Iraqis could face
persecution, torture, or death because many were Chaldean Catholics, Sunni
Muslims, or Iraqi Kurds and that the groups were recognized as targets of
ill-treatment in Iraq.
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, the U.S. government said.
Goldsmith
sided with the ACLU, expanding on June 26 an earlier stay which only protected
114 detainees from the Detroit area to the broader class of more than 1,400
Iraqi nationals nationwide. Goldsmith's Monday decision came hours before that
injunction was set to expire.
The ACLU
argued many Iraqi detainees have had difficulty obtaining critical government
documents needed to file deportation order appeals, and also that the
government has transferred many detainees to facilities in different parts of
the country, separating them from their lawyers and families.
Under
Goldsmith’s ruling, immigration authorities must provide the ACLU with
bi-weekly reports about each Iraqi that include where they are detained.
On Friday, a
federal prosecutor told Goldsmith his injunction was not necessary because many
of the detainees were appealing final deportation orders through immigration
court.
The roundup
of Iraqis in the Detroit area followed Iraq's agreement to accept deportees as
part of a deal that removed the country from Trump's revised temporary travel
ban on people from six Muslim-majority countries.
Some of
those affected came to the United States as children and committed their crimes
decades ago but were allowed to stay because Iraq previously declined to issue
travel documents for them.
That changed
after the two governments came to the agreement in March.
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