Federal Judge Rules He Can Block Deportation of Iraqi Illegal Aliens

A Detroit federal judge ruled Tuesday that the government cannot deport nearly 200 illegal immigrants from Iraq, due to concerns that they could be persecuted if returned to their home country.

U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith found that he had the legal authority to stay the deportations indefinitely while the detained Iraqis appeal their cases in federal court.

In his ruling, Goldsmith said that repatriating the Iraqis would expose them to “substantiated risk of death, torture, or other grave persecution before their legal claims can be tested in a court,” reports Reuters.

The decision comes after Goldsmith granted a temporary, two-week stay on the deportations of 199 Iraqi nationals that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had arrested in targeted operations in June. The judge extended the reprieve for another two weeks July 6 due to the “complexity of the issue involved and the time necessary to prepare an opinion.” (Read more from “Federal Judge Rules He Can Block Deportation of Iraqi Illegal Aliens” HERE)

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