Federal judge blocks Trump from deporting almost 1,500 Iraqis

Many of those detained are members of religious minorities who fear persecution by Isis

An Iraqi girl attends a Christmas mass at Chaldean Catholic church in Amman (REUTERS/Ali Jarekji)

More than 1,400 Iraqis who claim being sent home would amount to a “death sentence" have been told they can stay in the US temporarily, after a US judge blocked their deportations.

US district judge Mark Goldsmith granted their request for a preliminary injunction, giving the Iraqis more time to appeal their deportations in court.

Many of the immigrants, some of whom arrived in the US as early as 1980, are members of minority groups like the Chaldean Christians and the Kurdish and Sunni Muslims. They argue they will be targeted by Isis and other militants for their religious beliefs and “Western interests” if they are deported.

Mr Goldsmith agreed.

“Each petitioner faces the risk of torture or death on the basis of residence in America and publicised criminal records,” he wrote in his decision. “Many will also face persecution as a result of a particular religious affiliation.”

The US government’s concerns, he added, “pale to the point of evaporation when weighed against the potential lethal harm Petitioners may suffer”.

This is the third time a federal court has halted the deportations.

The Iraqi nationals were rounded up in immigration raids across the country in June, just three months after Iraq agreed to accept some immigrants back into the country. Iraq changed its years-long position on the issue in exchange for being left off of President Donald Trump’s travel ban.

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said the raids targeted Iraqis who had criminal convictions, or who had overstayed their visas. According to Mr Goldsmith’s ruling, at least half of the immigrants had been in the United States for more than a decade, because Iraq refused to issue them travel documents.

ICE maintains that the immigrants pose a threat to national security, claiming that an “overwhelming majority” of those detained have past criminal convictions. Advocates say many of those crimes occurred decades ago, and those convicted have served out their punishment.

Mr Goldsmith’s ruling comes in response to a class-action lawsuit filed by civil rights groups on the immigrants' behalf. The lawsuit asks for the deportations to be stayed until the immigrants have an opportunity to prove that they could face torture or death if returned to Iraq.

The ACLU of Michigan, which helped file the lawsuit on behalf of the immigrants, applauded Mr Goldsmith’s decision.

“A huge sigh of relief was heard throughout the Iraqi-American community last night,” said Michael Steinberg, legal director of the ACLU of Michigan. “As the judge recognised, immediate deportation is the equivalent of a death sentence for some Iraqi nationals.”