Jimmy Aldaoud, a 41-year-old former resident of Detroit, apparently died from diabetes after he was deported from the United States by the Trump Administration. Even though he’d been born in Greece, he was sent to Iraq, a country he’d never stepped foot in before. He didn’t know the language and could not acquire access to the insulin medication he needed to survive.

Aldaoud’s lawyer, Edward Bajoka, did not mince words when addressing the question of whether or not Trump and his policies are to blame for his client’s death:

“Jimmy was found dead today in Iraq. The likely cause of death was not being able to get  his insulin. He is a diabetic. He was forcefully deported to Iraq a couple of months ago. He was born in Greece and had never been to Iraq. He knew no one there. He did not speak Arabic. He was a member of the Chaldean minority group. He was a paranoid schizophrenic. His mental health was the primary reason for his legal issue that led to his deportation.”

He continued, “Rest in peace Jimmy. Your blood is on the hands of ICE and this administration.”

Jimmy Aldaoud’s situation showcased two significant problems in our society: One, diabetes can be a dangerous and deadly condition without proper care or medication — even though it should be entirely within our power to treat with today’s medical knowledge — and two, the Trump Administration doesn’t care how long you’ve been living in the United States if you can’t contribute and have brown skin.

Aldaoud had lived here since he was about six months old. 

ACLU lawyer Miriam Aukerman said, “We knew he would not survive if deported.” But ICE officials didn’t care. Aukerman also explained that she believes these same policies are to blame for additional deaths that have gone unreported so far.

Others have been quick to call out Trump’s abhorrent policies for what they are.

Annahar writer Hisham Melhem tweeted, “As if 41 years of mental illness, marginalization and diabetes are not cruel enough for Jimmy Aldaoud, America, in our name, exiled him to a home that was never a home, to die alone, destitute and broken.”

Senator Kamala Harris (D-California) said, “The cruelty of this administration knows no bounds.”

Beto O’Rourke, Harris’s fellow Democratic candidate in the 2020 race, tweeted, “Each day, we are made lower by this administration’s cruelty.”

If you cannot find access to the diabetes medications you need to survive, please contact us today.