US bishops urge Homeland Security to defer deportation of Chaldean Catholics

Bishops of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urged Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to defer the deportation of Chaldean Christians and others arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on June 11. In a letter dated June 19 and released late June 20, USCCB President Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, Bishop Oscar Cantu of Las Cruces, New Mexico, chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace, and Bishop Joe Vasquez of Austin, Texas, chairman of the Committee on Migration, responded to the arrests of Iraqis in the Detroit area and near Nashville, Tennessee.

More than 100 people were arrested, including Chaldean Christians and Shiite Muslims. They were placed in federal custody in Youngstown, Ohio, and faced deportation on June 21, according to the report. A June 12 rally outside the Mother of God Chaldean Catholic Church in Southfield, Michigan, drew women who spoke about relatives who had been taken into custody.

The bishops wrote that “returning religious minorities to Iraq at this time, without specific plans for protection, does not appear consistent with our concerns about genocide and persecution of Christians in Iraq.” They asked Kelly to use the discretion available under law to defer deportation of people to Iraq, “particularly Christians and Chaldean Catholics, who pose no threat to U.S. public safety,” until the situation in Iraq stabilizes and its government is willing and able to protect religious minorities. The Office of Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security and ICE Public Affairs did not respond immediately to a request for comment from Catholic News Service.

ICE officials did not officially confirm how many people had been taken into custody. They said those arrested had criminal convictions, including for murder, rape, assault, burglary, weapons violations and drug trafficking. In a news release, the agency said the action followed recent negotiations between the United States and Iraq, which had agreed “to take back Iraqi nationals convicted of crimes.” WJBK-TV in Detroit reported that an ICE spokesperson said each individual “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.”

The bishops acknowledged that some of those apprehended may have deportation orders because of past criminal offenses. “We do not minimize the serious criminal offenses of which some of these individuals have been convicted; it is entirely appropriate that they be punished for their offenses,” they wrote. They added that after sentences are served, “it would not be just or humane to deport a person who has integrated into American life and poses no evident risk to the local community.” They also said that the risk of persecution, “and even possible bodily harm because of their faith is, from our moral perspective, an important factor to be weighed in the calculation to deport.” Advocating for people who face danger because of their faith is a way of protecting the vulnerable (Proverbs 31:8-9).

The bishops noted that “for decades, many of these Christians sought legal refuge in the United States” and that, like other refugees, they “have become integrated into American communities, and in this instance, they are contributing members of communities in Michigan and Tennessee.”

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a class-action lawsuit against ICE on June 15. Seven individuals filed the complaint on behalf of themselves and all those similarly situated. The petitioners wrote: “U.S. law prohibits the removal of individuals to countries where they would face a likelihood of persecution or torture. For example, many of the petitioners are Chaldean Christians, who are widely recognized as targets of brutal persecution in Iraq.”

Source: Read the original report