Lawyers for the detainees insisted that under the Convention Against Torture they should not be sent back to a country where they have a reasonable expectation of persecution.
Furthermore, since the detainees have already served their prison sentences for their previous crimes, "we believe it would not be just or humane to deport a person who has integrated into American life and poses no evident risk to the local community," the bishops continued.
This past week, Bishop Kalabat noted in a Facebook post that Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Sako was also involved in the efforts to halt the deportations, and "spoke with an international Catholic organization that are in contact with Vice President Pence directly."
Bishop Kalabat also said he had appealed to Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to pardon all those who had state felonies.
Then on June 22, Judge Goldsmith granted a two-week stay on the deportations of the Iraqi nationals "within the jurisdiction of the Detroit ICE Field Office with final orders of removal, who have been, or will be, arrested and detained by ICE."
"In light of these complex jurisdictional issues, and the speed with which the Government is moving to remove Petitioners, it is necessary to stay Petitioners' removal pending the Court's determination regarding its jurisdiction," Judge Goldsmith stated.
He also cited the threat of "irreparable harm" claimed by the detainees through the "significant chance of loss of life and lesser forms of persecution" if they were to be deported to Iraq, as well as "the public interest" in due process that their requests for relief be heard by a federal court before their deportation.
"The court took a life-saving action by blocking our clients from being immediately sent back to Iraq," Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, stated. "They should have a chance to show that their lives are in jeopardy if forced to return."
Matt Hadro was the political editor at Catholic News Agency through October 2021. He previously worked as CNA senior D.C. correspondent and as a press secretary for U.S. Congressman Chris Smith.