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Anti-deportation rally outside federal court for detained Iraqis in metro Detroit

Posted at 7:50 AM, Jun 21, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-21 17:22:17-04

The American Civil Liberties Union has presented a class-action lawsuit to halt the deportation of more than 100 Iraqis detained earlier this month.

The ACLU filed the suit on behalf of the Chaldeans and Muslims who were detained across metro Detroit the week of June 11.

You may remember our coverage showing families lined up at the Immigration Custom Enforcement facility in Detroit as their loved ones were loaded onto buses.

ICE released a statement saying the people detained were living in the country illegally and had all committed crimes, saying the deportation proceedings are legal.

But families say many of the people detained have lived here for decades and already served time for their crimes.
They worry they'll be killed if sent back to a country they don't know, where there is very little religious freedom and where ISIS still has standing.

In anticipation of the ACLU suit being heard today, there will also be an anti-deportation rally at noon, happening outside the federal courthouse downtown.