The Mess-iahdent thinks Christians are terrorists, too.

I'm guessing America died during the first Wilson term...

Federal judge rules he can stop Iraqis' deportation - The Daily Tribune


A federal judge Tuesday halted the potential deportation of up to about 1,400 Iraqi nationals, including many Christians fearing persecution, while courts review the orders to remove them from the U.S.

Judge Mark Goldsmith of U.S. District Court 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.

The ruling affects 1,444 Iraqi nationals with deportation orders in effect nationwide but has bigger impact on about 220 Iraqi nationals, about half of them from the Detroit area, who have been detained for immediate deportation.

Nadine Kalasho, an attorney involved in the case, called the ruling “huge.”

“This was our biggest hurdle,” said Kalasho, director of Code Legal Aid in Madison Heights, which has helped more than 100 Iraqi detainees gain legal representation.

The next step is for attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union to ask the judge for time beyond a July 24 deadline to halt any deportations and give the detainees’ attorneys time to argue their cases in immigration court as well as ask that detainees be kept in one location near their homes to make it easier for them to have contact with their lawyers and families, Kalasho said.

Attorneys have said that many the 114 Iraqi nationals detained in Michigan and Ohio have been moved to multiple locations throughout the country, making it difficult for them to confer with their lawyers.

A status conference is scheduled for Thursday at which attorneys may try to seek a settlement of the case.

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

Most of the Iraqis are Christians and fear attacks over their religion if returned to Iraq. Non-Christian Iraqis also fear reprisal. They face deportation because they were convicted of committing crimes in the U.S.

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

Some of the 1,444 Iraqi nationals have been under orders for years because of their crime but legal action over deportations took on new urgency because Iraq has agreed to accept them as part of a deal with President Trump to remove Iraq from the travel ban.

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.

At the last court hearing, U.S. attorneys revealed that 93 of the 220 detainees have filed requests to reopen their cases. Kalasho said “a handful” have been granted.

U.S. attorneys said 325 Iraqis have been deported since 2010.

While ACLU attorneys have argued that some of the detainees committed crimes decades ago and have lived crime-free since then, government attorneys said only 20 of the 220 removal orders were granted before 2000. Since 2000, 196 have been issued, nearly half since 2010.

TheChurchMilitant: Sometimes anti-social, but always anti-fascist since 2005.