ICE targets some Nashville Kurds for deportation after U.S. deal with Iraq

Bayan Taro thought the 6 a.m. knock was a neighbor asking her or her husband to move their car.

Had she known who was actually at the door, she wouldn't have sent her husband to open it.

Sarkaut Taro, a 53-year-old Nashville filmmaker, padded out in his pajamas, his wife said in an interview on Monday. After a few moments, he called out for his wife.

When she came to the door, she said she saw her husband in handcuffs surrounded by unidentified men and unmarked vehicles.

He was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement — just one of at least 12 Iraqi nationals who've been taken into custody over the past week.

► Read more: Muslim advocates blast ICE for 'targeting' Nashville Kurdish community

The arrests are the result of a deal the U.S. brokered with Iraq, a spokesman with Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed Monday.

"As a result of recent negotiations between the U.S. and Iraq, Iraq has recently agreed to accept a number of Iraqi nationals subject to orders of removal," ICE spokesman Thomas Byrd said.

Nashville has the largest population of Kurdish residents in the United States, many of whom came to the country as refugees fleeing war and genocide.

The Taros sought asylum in the U.S. in 2002 when forces loyal to Saddam Hussein killed Sarkaut Taro's three brothers and burned his house down, Bayan Taro said.

Immigration attorney Charla Haas said that when Sarkaut Taro lost his asylum case in 2004, a judge issued a final order of removal. Haas, who represents the Taros, said the judge ruled that way because Hussein had by that time fallen from power.

She said they will be requesting to reopen his deportation case based on changed circumstances.

Kay Gerdi, a family friend, said the actor and director has used his films to be critical of human trafficking and religion but that one short film was particularly critical of the Islamic State, making the Taros a target in Iraq.

"If they deport him, especially to Baghdad, he's not going to survive," Gerdi said.

More than a dozen friends and colleagues, mostly from the Nashville film and arts community, have written letters to ICE on behalf of the filmmaker. Many of the letters plead for his release, while others aim to explain what sort of person he is. They described him as a kind and generous man.

Sarkaut Taro is currently being transported to an immigration detention center in Louisiana, Haas said. ICE did not immediately return a request for comment on his case.

According to Andrew Free, a Nashville immigration attorney representing some of those arrested, 12 Iraqis were being detained as of Monday morning. He said an additional 16 people had been targeted and that while most are Kurdish, some are Arab.

Byrd said all of those arrested for deportation had criminal convictions, including various violent crimes, though it was not clear what portion had committed such crimes.

Iraq was dropped from President Donald Trump's revised travel ban after the Iraqi government agreed to accept Iraqi nationals who have been ordered deported from the U.S., among other concessions.

► Read more: Kurdish family arrives in Nashville after travel ban delay

The second travel ban has been tied up in court since it was issued in March, with opponents arguing it unconstitutionally discriminates against Muslims.

Byrd called the arrests an effort "to process the backlog of these individuals."

"Each of these individuals received full and fair immigration proceedings, after which a federal immigration judge found them ineligible for any form of relief under U.S. law and ordered them removed," he said.

Haas said her client has been checking in yearly with ICE for the past several years.

And his wife said the two have always been in the country legally, consistently paying taxes and responding to any requests from the government to provide documents or have meetings.

"He told them, 'If you send me a letter, I'm coming. Why are you coming to arrest me?'" Bayan Taro said.

Sarkaut Taro was charged nearly 15 years ago with selling alcohol to a minor from when he was working at a convenience store shortly after he arrived in the U.S. His wife said he had to pay a fine and take a class to learn more about U.S. law.

Court records show that case is closed, and his attorney said it had no bearing on his immigration status.

So long as Iraq has refused to repatriate citizens, they have continued to live in Nashville with legal work permits. In some cases, they have been checking in with ICE for decades-old crimes.

A similar operation has been underway in the Detroit area, where dozens of Chaldean Christians have been detained by immigration authorities.

Many of them came to the United States after being persecuted in Iraq and said they are worried the deportations will put their lives in danger again.

Sitting at her friend's house Monday evening, Bayan Taro was nearly in tears. She said the scene was strikingly familiar.

In 1998, officers came to their home in Kirkuk, Iraq, one early morning to arrest Sarkaut Taro's brother, she said.

"It's the same thing," she said. "I'm not going to see my husband again."

In Nashville's Kurdish community, Drost Kokoye, of the American Muslim Advisory Council , said officers have been knocking on doors and asking questions without warrants, surrounding people with vehicles and going to their workplaces.

"(They are) just harassing our community," said Kokoye, who noted that the Kurdish community in Nashville traces back its roots decades.

When this is over, Bayan Taro said she isn't sure she'll remain in Nashville.

"When I left my country, I thought here was safe," she said. "There's not anywhere safe in the world."

Reach Ariana Sawyer at asawyer@tennessean.com or on Twitter @a_maia_sawyer.