On April 23, I.C.E. attempted to deport Oliver Awshana to Iraq with no prior warning and without travel documents. Oliver is a Chaldean Christian and is a member of the Hamama class of Iraqi refugees who were targeted for deportation by Trump beginning in 2017. The following is the transcript of his statement about the incident and his heroic fight that stopped his deportation:

“…Honestly there were like 25 police officers and listen to what happened: they took me to the airport – from the jail they told me I would be released. They picked me up in their car, they took me to Detroit ICE. They told me I would be on a tether. They made me wait in a room, then they came and said “Alright Oliver get ready.”

I was like “Where?”

They said “We’re gonna tell you where.” 

I said ‘“Then tell me where.” They didn’t call me for my luggage. They didn’t tell me I’m getting deported.

They took me to the airport, from the airport to Chicago. I said “Wait a minute, I need to make a phone call.” 

They said “No no no no no, let us do this, let us do this.” 

At the end, we got close to the Istanbul Airline and I said “You know what, I gotta talk to my sister.” I didn’t say the lawyer because I knew they’d be scared to let me talk to my lawyer.

He said “Please just do it really quick.” That’s when I called.

I told them my lawyer said not to get on the plane. I’m sick and I haven’t had my medication. This is what they did: They put handcuffs on me and all the police came with security and all over the cameras and the cameras saw everything, they dragged me and i kept yelling and screaming “You’re taking me to death! Why did you guys not tell me?!” 

They even made me where a jacket, I didn’t have a t-shirt, I had nothing on me. The whole time I was saying “please i need a doctor, I have PTSD.”

They were like “yeah, she’s on her way, she’s on her way.”

And we got they were like “if you’re gonna keep resisting we’re gonna put a jacket on you, a suicide jacket and 

they’re gonna put chains all over your body. Eventually they’re gonna take you, they’re not gonna give up.”

I said “You know what, do it, I’m not giving up because I’m going to death, I might as well die here, it’s better. I swear to god if I go to Iraq I’m going to death so I might as well die here.”

Then they called more security and then a police officer put a taser gun behind me and i did make sure the camera was right there and ICE was saying “tase him, tase him, he’s not gonna stop resisting.” 

Actually he did make me walk a little bit because i was so scared and he kept saying was him tase him and I can feel it right on my back and they were dragging me somewhere where there is no camera. and then after 30 minutes for more when we walked to the airplane like 2 feet away i was like you know what I cant,  I couldn’t even breathe anymore, that’s it. The captain said “Nope I’m no taking this guy.” he refused to take me. And on the way out, we got out from the airplane that when they held me tight and I passed out and when i passed out no body held me up. I had to fall straight on my face. And my hands, I had handcuffs behind my back and on the side of my face now when I eat by whole bone hurts. And then I started throwing up, and i fell, he lied down on top of me and I had a seizure and I started throwing up. And then they took off my jacket and I started saying “put water on my body” and thats when they called the ambulance and almost 20 of them came, and almost 35 police ended up there. You didn’t see regular people there anymore, all government. And the ICE was saying “Oliver please thats it, you win, we lost, what do you want?”

I said “Its not what i want, its what you guys did to me. I don’t want nothing from you guys, look what you guys did to me!”

He said “Ok what do you want? Just calm down, calm down, we’ll cancel your plane, you’re not gonna go. You’re gonna go back and fight your case, please.”

Basically they started begging me because of what they did to me. At the end they lost, i did not get deported, so now they’re scared.  Because what they did to me was not fair at all. They put two handcuffs on me; one metal, and 4 police officers lay down on top of me, each one putting his feet on my back, and put another plastic handcuffs so they can control me. Honest to god, my fingers were gonna blow up. Even now, they are so red, they were that tight. And they didn’t give me my medication. They said “no get on the airplane we will give it to you.” I said “just call the nurse please, my whole body is numb. I have high blood pressure.” 

They said “yeah, yeah, she’s gonna come, let’s get on the airplane.” 

I passed out after the captain refused to take me, we were already on our way out anyways. So they didn’t think I was faking. And honest to god, I don’t remember nothing, except that second i fell on the ground and none of them held me either. And I had a thick jacket on me, and i was nervous and my anxiety was going so bad, I was so hot, so hot. And then my eyeballs went up, and I fell right on my face. As soon as I woke up, I started throwing up on the floor where I was. And all the police and security, they were around me and the ambulance, they said “yes he has high blood pressure and PTSD”. 

They even started touching me exactly where i was hurting, my feet, my stomach, my neck, and my arm, exactly where they were putting water and ice because they knew exactly what had happened to me. And I got a seizure, I started biting my tongue and my lip and oh my god you don’t believe what happened. They were still saying “we’re still gonna take you.”

None of them called for luggage. None of them told me what was gonna happen. I had a thick snow jacket, that’s what i had on. That’s what I had with my property. I didn’t have any t-shirt. They didn’t call for luggage. They told me “well you should know, you should have called for your luggage” but no one told me.

Everywhere they took me was cameras. When the sergeant came, he made a report and then actually he was looking – every single spot i got tortured, he was walking there and checking the camera and writing the number.

And then when they talked to you honestly they were so scared. They said “Oliver, you know what, we didn’t want this to happen to you.” And they were telling me “please don’t tell anyone what happened.” And now they put me on D that way I don’t see Arabic people and tell them what happened. And I’m not supposed to be on D. I’m supposed to be on B, thats where I always go. And now they put me on D. (High crimes, maximum security section) So that way I don’t see any Arabic people.

And then they were saying “if we’re gonna tell the judge what you were doing, that you were resisting, he’s not gonna give you bond, so just don’t talk about it.” You know what he means by saying that, ‘if we tell the judge what happened he wont give you bond because you’re resisting so you’re a flight risk.” I said “no I’m gonna ask my lawyer.”  Thats what the ICE officer was telling me, his name’s Stephen. And then he said, “ok we talked to your lawyer. Lets go and by the time we get there, and if she did something, i promise you we’re gonna take you back…”