Judge approves settlement in lawsuit over US detention of Iraqi nationals

An email seeking comment from ICE was not immediately answered.

The lawsuit involved about 1,400 people, many of whom had been allowed to stay in the US for years, holding jobs and raising families, because Iraq had no interest in taking them back.

That suddenly changed in 2017 when Iraq’s position apparently shifted. ICE arrested people around the US, especially in southeastern Michigan, and detained them based on old deportation orders. Some were in custody for more than a year. Protesters filled streets outside the federal courthouse in Detroit.

The ACLU argued that their lives would be at risk if they were returned to their native country. The goal of the lawsuit was to suspend deportations and allow people to at least return to immigration court to make arguments about safety threats in Iraq.

US District Judge Mark Goldsmith made key rulings in their favour. Although those decisions were reversed by a higher court in 2018, there were opportunities in the meantime to win release and get into immigration court because of Goldsmith’s orders.

Some people were granted asylum or became US citizens. Roughly 50 people who were being held by ICE decided to go back to Iraq, Aukerman said.

They were so distraught about being in detention, they just gave up, she said. The vast majority remain in the United States. … What we’re seeing now is very limited removals.

First Published: Aug 01 2024 | 7:37 AM IST