GUEST columns Update on
GUEST columns Update on the Deportation Litigation: Hamama v. Adducci BY MARGO SCHLANGER It’s been well over a year since Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rounded up more than two hundred Iraqi nationals—most in metro Detroit—seeking to deport them immediately to Iraq. In the time since, another 100-plus have been arrested as well. A team of lawyers—from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), CODE Legal Aid, the law firm Miller Canfield, the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, the International Refugee Assistance Project and I—have been working hard to help everyone arrested fight their immigration cases and get home out of detention. I’ll review what’s happened so far, and then talk about the next steps: The first round-up in the Detroit area was June 11, 2017. The litigation started June 15, and was brought on behalf of all the Iraqis with final removal orders newly facing deportation. It was assigned to Judge Mark Goldsmith, in the federal district court in Detroit. It received the title Hamama v. Adducci, because the first-listed plaintiff was Sam Hamama, a Detroit area Chaldean community leader who had been arrested during the round-up. Judge Goldsmith first granted an emergency stay of removal—stopping the threat of immediate planes to Iraq. Then he granted what’s called a Preliminary Injunction, staying removals nationwide of Iraqi nationals, so that they would have time to go to immigration court and reopen their cases. The government appealed, but the stay remained in effect while the appeal was first briefed and then argued. Protected by the stay, the detained individuals began to get their cases reopened. But they stayed in detention, month after month, as they fought their immigration cases. Detainees were spread out in dozens of facilities across the country. Many of the Michigan detainees were held in Youngstown, Ohio, and several jails across Michigan. In November 2017, the Hamama lawyers brought a new motion, arguing that the detainees were being held unlawfully because while their detention had stretched to over six months, they had not had an opportunity to show that they were not a danger to the community or a flight risk. Judge Goldsmith agreed and on January 2, 2018, told ICE that Iraqi nationals in the Hamama case who were in detention over six months had to be given a bond hearing or released. Most of the detainees got bond hearings, and hundreds got out—but more than a hundred remain locked up. In April 2018, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals heard the government’s appeal of Judge Goldsmith’s two major orders: the July 2017 stay of removal and the January 2018 bond hearing order. A decision on both could come at any time. The next step – while we wait for the Court of Appeals opinion – Hamama legal team is to ask Judge Goldsmith to release the hundred-plus detainees who are still held in jails across the country. So, the Hamama counsel are hard at work on a new motion. The argument is under a case called Zadvydas v. Davis, in which the Supreme Court held that ICE must release detainees when there is no “significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future.” Iraq has for years had a policy against accepting the removal of Iraqis who are not agreeing to being sent to Iraq. But of course the U.S. government is pressuring Iraq to disregard its policy. It is critical that the community counter that pressure, by participating in demonstrations and contacting your elected representatives. As part of putting the next motion together, the Hamama team has been conducting “discovery”—the formal process in litigation of asking written questions, getting documents from the government, and conducting formal recorded interviews that are usable in court. The U.S. government argued that the Hamama team should not even be allowed to take these steps until the Court of Appeals rules—but last week, Judge Goldsmith rejected that attempted delay. Because of this victory, the case can move forward. What’s really important to remember is this: Anyone who has a final order of removal should be working hard with an immigration lawyer to try to get that order reopened and reversed. And if you have a green card, you should think seriously about applying for citizenship. As this case shows, anyone can lose residency status with one mistake, but citizenship is forever. We don’t know what the Court of Appeals will do—it could reverse Judge Goldsmith’s stay of removal, which would threaten anyone who has not succeeded in reopening their immigration case. But even if that does not happen, Judge Goldsmith did not make the risk of deportation go away. What he did was give people time to fight their immigration cases. If people do not fight their immigration cases, Judge Goldsmith’s order will not protect them. In addition, even if someone gets out on bond once, they can be rearrested if the immigration judge who granted bond says that’s ok. And finally, ICE is allowed to keep arresting additional people— although those newly arrested will have to be given a chance to contest their cases, and will have to receive a bond hearing, if their case is reopened or they remain in detention for over six months. It’s been a great privilege to be part of the Hamama litigation and help the community fight unjust deportations and family separations. But the litigation can only do so much. A long-term solution will be political or legislative. In the meantime, the most important thing is for people with removal orders to fight them. Margo Schlanger is a law professor at the University of Michigan and has been at the forefront of the fight to help community members at risk of deportation. Yella, Bye! What’s in a name? Can we get all the Chaldean families with different spellings of their last name together and take a vote on one name? Seriously how do you print shirts at a family reunion when you have Shounia, Shunia Shonia, Shonea, Oh and let’s not forget Shuniya. Are there more Karmos or Garmos? Should majority rule? And, one of the biggest Chaldean families, please two o’s or one? Is it Yaldoo or Yaldo? Who decided on Yaldou and Yaldu? Are there more Karmos or Garmos? Should majority rule? And, one of the biggest Chaldean families, please two o’s or one? Is it Yaldoo or Yaldo? Who decided on Yaldou and Yaldu? Khamo, Khammo, Khamoo, ahoo already! Get it straight. We just can’t keep up with the Kinaias, Kinayas Kenayas and Kainayas. The Dinhas got it right when they conformed to Denha but Denjas are still keeping their Mexican influence. Is it adios to that? We still love you our amigos. We would say Yousif had it right until one family threw in an “e”. How is it Yousef? You can’t really mess up Manour or can you? There is Mansoor and Mansor? Is there one family with one universal spelling? Okay, yella bye! If you have a Chaldean rant you want featured in Yella, Bye, email us at info@chaldeannews.com for an opportunity. You can be anonymous. (Inspired by Ashourina Slewo and contributions by Vanessa Denha Garmo) 10 CHALDEAN NEWS AUGUST 2018
The gift of a lifetime BY ALISON THOMAS “The family is where we are formed as people. Every family is a brick in the building of society.” – Pope Francis As many of those in our community, I grew up in a family that had a major focus on faith, love, and respect for one another. Throughout my life, my parents always reminded my siblings and me to lean on our faith and trust that God’s plan would be fulfilled in each of our lives if we cultivated and maintained a prayer life. For as long as I can remember, we spent each night praying a rosary as a family, and never missed a Sunday mass. I am certain that my faith would not be as strong if I did not have this foundation that began when I was a young girl by the example of my parents and my siblings. Part of being a Catholic, comes a love and devotion to the Holy Father of our Church, so you can imagine the shock I felt when I found out that I would have the opportunity to present the gifts during Holy Mass to Pope Francis for the Feast of St. Peter and Paul with my parents. My initial reaction, though, was how in the world did we get chosen to do this? The short answer, pure luck. And now for the more detailed answer: My mom initially planned a trip to Rome for the Cardinal Installation Ceremony of 14 Bishops from all over the world, including our Patriarch, Mar Louis Sako, which took place on June 28. She also planned to attend Pope Francis’s mass celebrating the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul which was the day after the Cardinal’s installation. My mom has travelled to Rome to see the Pope on several occasions in the past and as an avid EWTN viewer, she always wondered how families got the chance to present the gifts to him during mass and began to investigate how to do this. She eventually realized there was a way to apply through the Vatican website and began the process. Friends of hers who live in Rome expressed that her chances of getting accepted to do this were very slim, as they have tried for the last 40 years while living there and have never been accepted. Being the persistent woman that she is, she still tried—and several days before leaving for the Cardinal’s installation, she received a notification that her application was accepted. As many times as we read the notification, we were still in disbelief. Despite our uncertainty, my father and I booked our flight to join my mom and continued to question whether it would actually happen or not. Upon arrival to Rome, we verified that the email was in fact an acceptance to present the gifts and were notified that we needed to attend a practice session the day before the mass in order to prepare. The few days that we spent in Rome felt like a whirlwind—what could be greater than participating in mass with the leader of our Church? And what an incredible moment that we would never forget. This feeling of skepticism and Imagine the shock I felt when I found out that I would have the opportunity to present the gifts during Holy Mass to Pope Francis for the Feast of St. Peter and Paul with my parents. amazement did not seem to go away until the moment we found ourselves standing before the Holy Father awaiting this incredible meeting. I remember whispering to my mom and dad as we were walking towards him, “Is this actually happening?!” We were able to exchange a few words with him, and told him that we were Chaldean from Iraq, living in America— he thanked us and blessed us, and asked that we pray for him. This experience is one that my parents and I will treasure for the rest of our lives, and I am so grateful to have experienced it with them—the people who formed me into the person I am today, and who instilled in me my faith and love for the Church. AUGUST 2018 CHALDEAN NEWS 11
