Iraqi Christians facing deportation feel conned by Trump: ‘You vowed to protect us’
Trump administration wants to deport more than 1,400 Iraqi nationals, most of who are Chaldean – Iraqi Catholics who saw Trump as a ‘savior’ but now feel ‘betrayed’
Ten years ago, police caught Iraqi Chaldean immigrant Rani Yousuf with a small amount of marijuana. He completed probation, paid fines, and the conviction was dropped from his record when he turned 21.
Still, earlier this year, Yousuf found his car surrounded by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officers who arrested him again over the charge. He sat for months in a Michigan county jail facing the prospect of deportation to Iraq, a country he left at four years old. He has no family there, doesn’t speak Arabic, and is part of a religious minority targeted by extremists.