A longtime Michigan resident who had never been to Iraq was deported there in June and died this week, according to NBC News.
Jimmy Aldaoud, 41, was born in Greece and came to the United States when he was an infant. He was found dead in Baghdad on Tuesday, Edward Bajoka, an immigration attorney in Michigan and a family friend of Aldaoud's, told NBC News.
"Jimmy died tragically yesterday of a diabetic crisis. His death could have and should have been prevented, as his deportation was essentially a death sentence," Aldaoud's congressman, Rep. Andy Levin, D-Michigan., said in a statement Wednesday.
Aldaoud's parents were Iraqi refugees who fled to Greece, where Aldaoud was born. The family came to the United States about 40 years ago, according to NBC News.
Aldaoud had various mental health issues, including schizophrenia and was arrested in 2012 for breaking into a house in Ferndale to steal power tools, according to the report.
Aldaoud had a long criminal record and was given "a full complement of medicine to ensure continuity of care" upon deportation, ICE officials told NBC News.
A video of a disheveled Aldaoud was posted on Facebook.
For anyone following this story...here is a video of Jimmy taken in Baghdad about two weeks after he was deported. Rest In Peace Jimmy...
Posted by Edward A. Bajoka on Wednesday, August 7, 2019
"I am working around the clock to get #JimmyAldaoud's remains transported back to the US so that he can receive a dignified Catholic funeral and be buried next to his mother in Michigan, the only home he has ever known. It is the least we can do for Jimmy," Levin said on Twitter.
Jimmy's death was both horrific & avoidable. I introduced a bipartisan bill to prevent deportations like Jimmy's, but make no mistake - the Trump Administration could end these cruelties with the stroke of a pen. https://t.co/Bsgruk7UMR
— Rep. Andy Levin (@RepAndyLevin) August 8, 2019