Detroit Man Dies After Being Deported To Iraq

A man who grew up and spent most of his life in the United States, died this week, two mere months after being deported back to Iraq. 

According to Politico, 41-year-old Jimmy Aldaoud was an Iraqi national who was born in Greece but came to the U.S. when he was a child. 

Aldaoud had never lived in Iraq and did not speak Arabic, but was deported amid the Trump Administration’s strict immigration crackdown.

Edward Bajoka, an immigration lawyer and self-described close friend of the family, wrote on Facebook that Aldaoud was found dead on Wednesday. The cause of death appeared to be linked to an inability to get insulin for diabetes, according to Bajoka.

“Rest In Peace Jimmy,” Bajoka wrote. “Your blood is on the hands of ICE and this administration.” 

Politico reports that Aldaoud spoke about his deportation in an undated video that was posted on Facebook this week.

Aldaoud said, “Immigration agents pulled me over and said I’m going to Iraq,” he said, according to Politico. “I said, ‘I’ve never been there. I’ve been in this country my whole life, since pretty much birth.’ … They refused to listen to me.”