U.S. judge halts deportation of 1,400 Iraqis

A refugees welcome sign.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

On Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that 1,400 Iraqi immigrants cannot be deported from the United States while courts are reviewing their asylum cases.

Many of the Iraqis are Christians who fear persecution, including 114 who were arrested in the Detroit area and accused by the Department of Justice of committing crimes in the United States, Al Jazeera reports. In his opinion, Judge Mark Goldsmith said he has jurisdiction in the case over the DOJ, and if the Iraqis are sent back they would be exposed to "substantiated risk of death, torture, or other grave persecution before their legal claims can be tested in a court."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.