A US resident deported to Iraq by the Trump administration in June has died, according to friends of the man. Jimmy al-Daoud, an Iraqi Chaldean Catholic who was born in Greece before moving to America aged six months, had never lived in Iraq and did not speak Arabic.
Mr Daoud, a diabetic, was understood to have been living on the streets in Baghdad with no access to insulin, before he died this week.
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The administration has targeted over 1,000 Iraqis for deportation, including Chaldean Catholics – a minority which faces discrimination in Iraq.
Mr Daoud was one of the Chaldeans from Michigan given a final order of removal, although he challenged the decision in court.
Edward Bajoka, an immigration lawyer a friend of Mr Daoud’s, said he was a paranoid schizophrenic whose mental health "was the primary reason for his legal issues that led to his deportation".
"He was forcefully deported to Iraq. He was born in Greece and had never been to Iraq. He knew no one there. He did not speak Arabic. He was a member of the Catholic Chaldean minority group"
Meet #JimmyAldaoud. He died alone in #Baghdad yesterday.https://t.co/TxDEEcpQ56 pic.twitter.com/X7KurrhyG4
— Al Bawaba Node (@_thenode) August 8, 2019
Daoud, 41, had a criminal conviction for disorderly conduct and served 17 months for a home invasion.
Writing on Facebook, Mr Bajoka said: “Rest In Peace Jimmy. Your blood is on the hands of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and this administration.”
In an undated video, Mr Daoud says: “Immigration agents pulled me over and said I’m going to Iraq. I’ve never been there. I’ve been in this country my whole life, since pretty much birth … They refused to listen to me.”
He describes sleeping on the streets of Baghdad, unable to communicate with Iraqis and vomiting because of a lack of insulin.
Andy Levin, Democrat representative for Michigan, said that deporting the US resident to a place where he ultimately lacked access to medical care “put his life in extreme danger.”
"Jimmy al-Daoud should have never been sent to Iraq," he said in a written statement. "My Republican colleagues and I have repeatedly called on the executive branch to cease deportation of such vulnerable people. Now, someone has died."
President Donald Trump he has been threatening large-scale raids to catch undocumented immigrants.
Martin Manna of the Chaldean Community Foundation in Michigan said that many people are concerned about whether they will be deported next.
“There’s a tremendous amount of anxiety in the community,” he said. “Iraq’s not a safe place for many of the people who are being sent back.”