Iraqi Christians with criminal records arrested by ICE in Detroit over the weekend face deportation, but attorneys and Chaldean community groups are working to prevent that from happening, arguing they would be targets for violence if returned to Iraq.
Dozens of arrests were part of a "sweep" conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which began early Sunday, reported The Wall Street Journal.
There were 30 to 40 arrests made on Sunday, according to CNN.
Most of the Iraqis detained have lived in the U.S. for decades, but some have rap sheets for major and minor crimes.
ICE issued a statement about the arrests.
"As a result of recent negotiations between the U.S. and Iraq, Iraq has recently agreed to accept a number of Iraqi nationals subject to orders of removal," the statement said.
"As part of ICE's efforts to process the backlog of these individuals, the agency recently arrested a number of Iraqi nationals, all of whom had criminal convictions for crimes including homicide, rape, aggravated assault, kidnapping, burglary, drug trafficking, robbery, sex assault, weapons violations and other offenses," the statement continued.
"Each of these individuals received full and fair immigration proceedings, after which a federal immigration judge found them ineligible for any form of relief under U.S. law and ordered them removed."
Moayad Barash, 47, was one of those seized by ICE officials on Sunday. He is from Baghdad.
"My dad is Christian and Donald Trump is sending him back to a place that is not safe whatsoever," said Cynthia Barash, Moayad's 18-year-old daughter.
The Minority Humanitarian Foundation is one of the groups working to prevent the deportations, CNN noted.
The group has filed a federal lawsuit to stop those seized from being sent back to their home countries.
"These are American citizens by all intents and purposes. They're not Iraqis. If they are put back to Iraq they face death, simple as that. A lot of individuals don't have families there anymore. They have no protection. Their homes are likely run over by ISIS," said Lundon Attisha, the foundation's communications director.
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