Tresa Baldas

Detroit Free Press

In an immigration case that drew widespread support from the Ann Arbor community, a father of four with two convictions was spared deportation Tuesday after a judge concluded that the man's family "would suffer extreme hardship" if he left, especially his special needs son, who requires 24-hour care.

The Department of Homeland Security said it would not appeal.

In issuing his decision, Immigration Judge David Paruch said that Jordanian immigrant Yousef Ajin has stayed clean for years since committing two crimes that involved stealing 14 years ago and that he has always had a job caring for his family since coming to this country 18 years ago.

He stressed to Ajin that he is lucky to avoid deportation, noting: "This kind of waiver — we don't give out regularly." But he qualified because his crimes were committed "some time ago" and his family needs him, he said.

Related:

U.S. Reps. Justin Amash, Brenda Lawrence field questions at town halls

Homeland Security unveils plan to deport undocumented immigrants

"My decision is a final decision, you get to stay," said Paruch, who urged Ajin to stay clean and not mess up again.

"I will not. I am not crazy," responded Ajin, who attended the hearing through a live video feed from the Calhoun County Jail in Battle Creek, where he's been for almost a month.

The judge concluded the two-hour hearing saying: "Congratulations, sir. And please, please take this the right way: I hope I never see you again."

"Thank you," responded Ajin, who gets to keep his green card and permanent status in the U.S. as he pursues citizenship.

Ajin's case comes amid a wave of fear that has swept over immigrant communities in metro Detroit as the U.S. government ramps up its immigration enforcement under the direction of President Donald Trump, who recently announced plans to hire 10,000 federal agents to help crack down on undocumented immigrants.

Ajin's case drew support from many in Ann Arbor, including state Rep. Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor and Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent Jeanice Swift, who took to social media to support the family.

On Saturday, she tweeted: "We stand with you, Ajin Family!"

Outside the immigration courtroom, a crowd of supporters, most of them from Ann Arbor, cheered and cried as they learned that Ajin had avoided deportation in a case that drew more than 100 demonstrators to the federal building in downtown Detroit.

Ajin, who has lived in Ann Arbor for 18 years with his wife, three daughters and a son — all U.S. citizens — amassed a huge following after getting detained Jan. 30 while making a routine check-in with immigration authorities in Detroit.

U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement spokesman Khaalid Walls said Ajin was taken into custody because of a 2001 felony conviction that involved shopping with a credit card that wasn't his. Following his conviction, an order to have him deported was issued in 2012 by an immigration judge. ICE had determined that Ajin was "noncompliant" with the requirement of his release, which led to his eventual arrest Jan. 30.

According to courtroom testimony, here is why Ajin faced a threat of deportation, and what has kept him on the radar of immigration authorities:

In 2001, while cleaning rooms at a University of Michigan hospital, Ajin found a wallet in a couch cushion of an empty room and used the credit card he found inside to go on a shopping trip to Meijer. He and another hospital employee used the credit card to buy $500 worth of cigarettes, cologne and beer. He was arrested nine days later with the help of surveillance cameras that caught him making the purchases. He pleaded guilty to possessing a financial transaction device. He received one year of probation and had to pay $1,475 in restitution.

Two years later, in 2003, Ajin landed back in court, this time for stealing a telephone and remote control from a Meijer in Chelsea. He pleaded guilty to retail fraud, received six months of probation and had to pay a $425 fine.

"I was stupid to do something like that," Ajin said in court Tuesday, adding he has since learned his lesson. "I learned if something doesn't belong to you, don't touch it."

In pleading for mercy, Ajin testified that he has always worked hard since immigrating here, most recently working as an Uber driver, which he said earned him $68,000 last year. He also has been a maintenance worker and held jobs doing restaurant delivery work. He is the breadwinner of the family, he said, noting his wife, Siham, stopped working as a nurse's aide following the birth of their special needs son, who was born with a developmental disorder known as Cornelia de Lange syndrome. He is now 15, but cannot talk, feed himself or bath himself and has the mental capacity of a 5-year-old.

Ajin told the judge that if he were deported, and something happened to his wife, there would be no one to care for his son. And taking him to Jordan is not an option, he stressed.

"There is no life for him there. He will die there," Ajin said, adding if anything happened to his wife, "that means the family is done."

When his lawyer, Chris Vreeland, asked him, "Why should the judge let you stay here in the U.S.?" Ajin answered in three words: "For my family."

Ajin's wife also testified on behalf of her husband, telling the judge her family would be lost without him.

"He's a caring father, a good person. he's a funny guy ... He loves everybody," Siham Ajin said, stressing: "He's the only source of income in the house."

After the wife's testimony, the judge asked both sides if they objected to him not calling any other witnesses. Neither side objected, which concluded the hearing with a favorable ruling for Ajin, whose family wept and hugged as they left the federal building.

"I feel good. I love the system. I love the judge and God bless this country," said Issa Issa, Ajin's first cousin, who brought his young son to Detroit with him for the hearing.

The immigrant community in metro Detroit and nationwide has been on edge since the latest crackdown by federal authorities.

Last week, federal agents arrested four undocumented immigrants in Ypsilanti and three undocumented immigrants in southwest Detroit,

These arrests came two weeks after immigration agents arrested 680 immigrants in a series of actions in states across the U.S. that sparked anxiety. The following week, on Feb. 16, immigrants held "A Day Without Immigrants" rallies in cities across the U.S., including in Detroit, Ypsilanti and Pontiac.

Walls, a spokesperson for ICE, has previously said that "reports of ICE checkpoints and sweeps are false, dangerous and irresponsible. These reports create mass panic and put communities and law enforcement personnel in unnecessary danger. Any groups falsely reporting such activities are doing a disservice to those they claim to support."

Walls also has stressed: "All enforcement activities are conducted with the same level of professionalism and respect that ICE officers exhibit every day."

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com. Staff writer Niraj Warikoo contributed to this report.