Louis Akrawi (MDOC photo)
Louis Akrawi (MDOC photo)
Louis Akrawi, described as the former Chaldean Godfather of Metro Detroit, won't be deported to his native Iraq without a fight.
Akrawi, 69, is on a hunger strike in an Arizona detention center while he awaits a decision on whether he'll be deported, reports John Wiseley of the Detroit Free Press.
He was one of more than 100 Metro Detroit Chaldean and Mulsim Iraqis with criminal records arrested by Immigration and Customers Enforcement agents last month for deportation.
U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith in Detroit has halted the Iraqi deportations, at least for now, arguing that the detainees should be given an opportunity to argue before the immigration court, and the U.S. Court of Appeals if necessary, that they might face torture or even death if they return to an unstable Iraq.
The litigation is fluid, and it is unclear if Goldsmith's ruling will prevail or be overturned.
Akrawi, who served 20 years in prison for second-degree murder, hasn't eaten since June 28 and lost 11 pounds in the first week of his hunger strike, according to federal prosecutors in Arizona, the Freep reports. Prosecutors want a judge to give them permission to force feed him and provide medical attention he needs.
"Unless Akrawi is significantly hydrated and nourished in the near future, his immediate and permanent health will be at risk," Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Branch wrote in a court brief.
Akrawi, who was also suspected of drug trafficking, was paroled in February 2016 after two decades in prison for murder.
The convictions of the Iraqi detainees range from murder to marijuana possession.
Those with lesser crimes would have a far better chance of convincing a court to let them remain in the U.S. Akrawi's family has acknowledged that he'll have a tougher time staying in America considering the seriousness of his crime.
A lot of of the detainees had been ordered deported many years ago. But it wasn't until recently that Iraq agreed to accept them after President Donald Trump removed Iraq from the travel ban list.
