Judge approves settlement in long-running lawsuit over US detention of Iraqi nationals

DETROIT — A judge approved a settlement Wednesday in a 2017 lawsuit that challenged the detention of Iraqi nationals who were targeted for deportation during the Trump administration.

The agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, sets strict conditions for future detentions before any proposed removals, the American Civil Liberties Union said.

“Too often, immigrants are locked up for months or years for absolutely no reason other than they want what so many of us have already: the chance to build a life in America. The settlement will make it easier for them to do that," ACLU attorney Miriam Aukerman said. 

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 U.S. 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 U.S., 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.

U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith made key rulings in their favor. 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 U.S. 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."