AUGUST 2018

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