United States immigration officials have begun arresting Iraqi immigrants who face deportation — including some in the Christian community — and who have committed serious crimes.

Some 1,400 Iraqi nationals in the United States have final orders of removal.

[lz_ndn video=32544492]

“Dozens of Chaldean Christians were arrested by federal immigration officials over the weekend in the Detroit metropolitan area,” the Catholic News Agency reported on June 12. It noted as well that a federal judge had “ordered them removed,” according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). These individuals’ previous criminal offenses included homicide, rape, sexual assault, kidnapping, and “weapons violations.” Local church officials, however, say many of these people have served time and turned their lives around.

Chaldeans are an Iraqi indigenous community and speak Aramaic, as CNA noted. The Chaldean Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic Church, uses the East Syrian rite.

Iraq agreed to accepted deportees from the United States. “Attorneys for those detained speculate that the number of immigrants taken away Sunday range from 90 to 300, and were mostly Iraqi Christians,” the Detroit Free Press noted.

Until April 2017, “Iraq had not accepted deportees from the United States since 2010,” Christianity Today reported. “That policy changed when one of President Donald Trump’s early executive orders included Iraq on a list of seven countries targeted with a temporary travel ban. As part of the deal to be removed from the list, Iraq agreed to begin taking deportees again.”

Trump’s executive order of March of this year (which superseded his original executive order) bans individuals from certain Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.

“It is the policy of the United States to protect its citizens from terrorist attacks, including those committed by foreign nationals,” the Trump executive order noted. “The screening and vetting protocols and procedures associated with the visa-issuance process and the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) play a crucial role in detecting foreign nationals who may commit, aid, or support acts of terrorism and in preventing those individuals from entering the United States.”

Related: Islamicizing European Cities

Who do you think would win the Presidency?

By completing the poll, you agree to receive emails from LifeZette, occasional offers from our partners and that you've read and agree to our privacy policy and legal statement.

Iraq was originally was on the list. The March order stated this country is a “special case.”

“The close cooperative relationship between the United States and the democratically elected Iraqi government, the strong United States diplomatic presence in Iraq, the significant presence of United States forces in Iraq, and Iraq’s commitment to combat ISIS justify different treatment for Iraq,” Trump’s order noted.

Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen are the six countries currently on the list.

Related: Young Middle Eastern Girl Reunited with Her Family 

“Recent history shows that some of those who have entered the United States through our immigration system have proved to be threats to our national security,” the order added. “Since 2001, hundreds of persons born abroad have been convicted of terrorism-related crimes in the United States. They have included not just persons who came here legally on visas but also individuals who first entered the country as refugees. For example, in January 2013, two Iraqi nationals admitted to the United States as refugees in 2009 were sentenced to 40 years and to life in prison, respectively, for multiple terrorism-related offenses.”

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Trump’s executive order on Monday, June 12.

[lz_third_party includes=https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/874578159676665857]

“In order to protect Americans, the United States must ensure that those admitted to this country do not bear hostile attitudes toward it and its founding principles,” stated an executive order from January. “The United States cannot, and should not, admit those who do not support the Constitution, or those who would place violent ideologies over American law.”