Attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) appeared before U.S District Judge Judith Levy and argued that U.S. immigration authorities immediately release Haitian asylum seeker Ansly Damus, who sought asylum after a gang beat him and threatened his life for criticizing a political leader.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan applauds the decision of U.S. District Judge Mark A. Goldsmith to order the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to release all Iraqis within 30 days.

The ACLU sued Immigration and Customs Enforcement in June 2017 on behalf of Iraqi residents and their families in the U.S., after ICE agents arrested more than 100 Iraqi nationals without warning — including many who came to the U.S. as children and who’ve lived in the U.S. for decades — in raids throughout Metro Detroit.

Attorneys Can Visit Clients; ICE Will Tell Detainees They Can’t Be Deported for Refusing to Go to Iraq

DETROIT – U.S. District Court Judge Mark Goldsmith today issued an emergency order granting immediate relief to Iraqi detainees. The order prohibits harassment by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intended to pressure long-time U.S. residents into agreeing to be deported.

DETROIT – The ACLU of Michigan has filed an emergency motion to protect Iraqis detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from illegal coercion and intimidation.  On behalf of detainees and their families, the ACLU is asking the court to stop threats and misinformation by ICE agents, intended to pressure long-time U.S. residents into agreeing to be deported.  Many detainees are from persecuted ethnic or religious minority groups.