We are writing as concerned community members to request that Niberd Alzendi Abdalla (DOB: 2/23/1960 and A# 090233750) be immediately released from detention at the Suffolk County House of Corrections and returned to his home to receive necessary medical care. We believe further detention and the possibility of deportation to his home country of Iraq could have disastrous and potentially fatal consequences for his health.

Mr. Abdalla is a 57 year-old Iraqi Kurdish man who has lived in the United States for 41 years. He suffers from multiple intersecting health diagnoses including severe persistent asthma, chronic pneumonia, vocal cord dysfunction, and musculoskeletal pain. Mr. Abdalla’s doctor, David Serlin of Cooley Dickinson Practice Associates, attests that without access to biweekly injections and daily medical regimen of over 10 medications, his health is in significant jeopardy.

Mr. Abdalla’s five weeks in detention has already demonstrated that he is not physically well enough to be removed from his home and his regular care. Since his detention began on June 8, Mr. Abdalla’s health has deteriorated to the point of needing a constant wheelchair. While in detention, he has had inconsistent access to a wheelchair and his full medical prescriptions, resulting in worsening health.

We also firmly believe that deportation to Iraq would have even more dire consequences for Mr. Abdalla. He has no family or connections in Iraq. After 41 years in the US, his ability to communicate clearly in Arabic is limited. He is in a very vulnerable situation medically if he is removed from the US.

Mr. Abdalla has lived peacefully in the US for over 41 years. He arrived as a student at the age of 15, and built a life for himself here, with an adult son serving in the US military and an American fiancé who calls him “the love of my life.” They are all terrified for his future, as his health continues to decline during his detention.

We ask that Mr. Abdalla’s pending deportation be ended on medical grounds. He is not well enough to be removed from the U.S. We further ask that he be removed from detention immediately and returned to his home where he can receive the medical care he desperately needs.