Iraqi Christians in U.S. Face Deportation

Veronica Neffinger | iBelieve Contributor | Updated: Sep 06, 2017

Iraqi Christians in U.S. Face Deportation

Chaldean Christians who escaped persecution in Iraq by coming to the U.S. now face more obstacles.

Slate.com reports that the U.S. Chaldean Christians have a large community in Michigan--about 121,000 of them have settled there.This is the largest community of Chaldeans outside of their native Iraq.

Most of the members of this community are politically Republican. Many have been known to support the Republican Party and President Donald Trump with donations and votes. These Christians applauded Trump’s and Vice President Pence’s commitment to protect persecuted Christians in the Middle East.

Despite these political leanings and the dire situation in which they would find themselves if forced to return to the Middle East, this community of Chaldean Christians now faces possible deportation by the same administration they have supported.

The ACLU and other lawyers have previously filed a class-action complaint, successfully stopping deportation at least temporarily, but members of the U.S. Chaldean community still fear detainment and deportation, and ultimately, the torture and possible death that they may face if forced to go back to Iraq, due to terrorist organizations such as ISIS.

“The community is not going to forget who came to our aid and who didn’t,” stated U.S. Chaldean lawyer Nadine Yousif Kalasho.  “And we have voting power.”

“This is not partisan. This is a family issue. This is a life or death issue,” added Wisam Naoum, who experienced firsthand how members of the Chaldean community were rounded up and detained.

 

Photo courtesy: Getty Images

Publication date: September 6, 2017



Iraqi Christians in U.S. Face Deportation