Diabetic Man Dies After Trump Administration Deported Him to a Country He Had Never Visited

“I begged them,” he said. “I said, ‘Please, I’ve never seen that country, I’ve never been there. However, they forced me. I’m here now. And I don’t understand the language… I’ve been sleeping in the street.’”

Aldaoud had serious health concerns including diabetes and schizophrenia, meaning that his deportation is a particularly stunning example of the Trump administration’s calculated cruelty toward vulnerable people.

Bajoka wrote: “He was a paranoid schizophrenic. His mental health was the primary reason for his legal issues that led to his deportation.”

“The likely cause of death was not being able to get his insulin,” he wrote.

A vulnerable person like Aldaoud would benefit from a policy allowing people in the U.S. to access healthcare regardless of citizenship status, an idea that has been floated by several Democratic candidates for president. When he was in clear need of help from a medical professional, though, government officials and law enforcement intervened to make his troubles exponentially worse.

Miriam Aukerman, an attorney with the ACLU of Michigan, said in a written statement: “Jimmy’s death has devastated his family and us. We knew he would not survive if deported. What we don’t know is how many more people ICE will send to their deaths.”

Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.) tweeted that Aldaoud should “never” have been deported to Iraq.

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.”

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