Akrawi, who fled Iraq as a political dissident in the late 1960s after opposing Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist regime, spent decades battling efforts by U.S. immigration officials to force him back to his homeland. The 78-year-old has been sent back to Baghdad despite longstanding concerns for his safety.
The deportation comes despite his advanced age and serious health issues, including Parkinson’s disease, and warnings that returning to Iraq, where he has not lived in nearly six decades, could be life-threatening.
Akrawi’s roots trace to Baghdad’s once-vibrant Assyrian community. After moving to the United States, he became a prominent figure in southeastern Michigan’s Assyrian neighborhood, of which many adhere to the Chaldean Catholic Church, known locally for decades as a community leader and controversially as a powerful figure in organized crime.
In Detroit, Akrawi’s organization reportedly controlled various illegal enterprises and earned him a reputation as the city’s “Teflon Don,” surviving multiple criminal trials and operating a network that spanned gambling, extortion, and drugs.
Despite his criminal past, Akrawi had not been in legal trouble in the U.S. since the early 1990s, and he spent the past decade living quietly with his family in the Detroit suburbs.
His deportation highlights broader issues affecting Iraq-origin communities in America, including Assyrians who left the country amid conflict and dictatorship and built lives abroad. Akrawi’s case, in particular, raises questions about how U.S. immigration policy treats elderly and vulnerable individuals with deep ties to American society.
His family name, Akrawi, denotes his family origins from the town of Aqra in northern Iraq's Assyria Region.
