At a time when American politics seems defined by partisan rancor and deep divide, Michigan’s lame-duck Legislature has the rare opportunity to come together and significantly improve all of our lives by getting 18 critically important pieces of legislation, commonly referred to as the “Smart Justice” reform package, across the finish line. With just days left this session, the race is on to get these bills, which have bipartisan support, passed and on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk. There are two reasons for this urgency. One, signing them into law will do a world of good to improve our criminal legal system, especially for the communities of color and poor people disproportionately being harmed by it.  

The other is that once legislators return from break on December 1, they will only have nine working days to get everything passed by both chambers. If they don’t succeed, we will be back at square one next year, while thousands of people continue to languish needlessly in jail. All the hard work that brought us to this pivotal point will have to begin anew. That would be tragic as it would delay the aim of this legislation, which is to prevent thousands of people from being needlessly arrested and jailed, and all the fallout that comes with both – job loss, family separation, and financial instability. 

The “Smart Justice” legislation stems from recommendations made in January by the bipartisan Michigan Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration, which, with the help of Pew Charitable Trusts, spent most of 2019 conducting research and holding public fact-finding meetings across the state about our criminal legal system, specifically how and why we arrest people, and how long we lock people up in jail. 

To underscore the dire need to get these bills passed, let me share just some of what Pew uncovered when examining data from 20 county jails across the state between 2016 and 2018: 

Driving without a valid license was the third most common reason people went to jail in 2018 

Traffic offenses accounted for half of all criminal court cases in 2018 

People spent an average of 11 days in jail for a misdemeanor between 2016 and 2018 

Black men made up 29% of jail admissions and 6% of the resident population between 2016 and 2018  

Passage of the legislation will reclassify many traffic misdemeanors as civil infractions. Doing so would stop thousands of people a year from going to jail, saving taxpayers' money and preventing the terribly damaging impact on individuals and families even a few days being bars can create. 

As Pew has pointed out, the legislative package will, among other things, “eliminate driver’s license suspension as a penalty for offenses not related to dangerous driving, increase use of arrest alternatives at the front end of the system, prioritize alternatives to jail when sentencing for low-level offenses, and reduce jail admissions for people on probation and parole.” 

Several of the bills prioritize people’s individual needs over punishment. Legislation that will eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for a variety of misdemeanors gives judges the discretion to set penalties based on the facts of a case rather than being forced to impose sentences that may be unduly harsh and unjust.  

Moreover, law enforcement will have discretion in many cases to issue a ticket rather than automatically arresting and jailing people. This will happen by expanding the list of offenses eligible for citations.   Another common-sense measure included in these bills are alternative sentences, such as community service instead of jail and probation, and ensuring that conditions of probation and parole are tailored to the assessed risks and needs of the probationer/parolee and the needs of the victim. These policies will reduce the devastating collateral consequences of contact with the criminal legal system and reduce the likelihood of recidivism. 

As Pew also points out in the Task Force report, “Michigan has one of the highest rates of community supervision in the country, and probation and parole violations are among the top 10 offenses admitted to jail...Research also indicates that sanctions for probation violations are most effective when they are swift, certain, and proportional, and that community-based sanctions are as effective as incarceration at reducing future violations.” 

The common-sense nature of these reforms and their broad appeal is reflected in the diverse nature of the groups supporting them. Earlier this month, in a press conference held to draw attention to the issue and urge speedy action by the Legislature, representatives from groups as disparate as Americans for Prosperity, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Safe and Just Michigan and the ACLU of Michigan came together to urge lawmakers to get the bills passed. 

“Believe it or not, progressives and conservatives can find common ground,” Annie Patnaude, state director for Americans for Prosperity, said during the press conference.  

She’s right. These bills provide a rare opportunity for factions of every sort to come together and make improvements all of us can get behind. 

There is absolutely nothing lame about that. 

Earlier this month, as I was standing with my right hand raised and swearing an oath of allegiance to the United States, one of the many thoughts racing through my mind was how dangerously close I came to never realizing this lifelong dream of being an American citizen. 

Instead of becoming a newly minted U.S. citizen, I might easily be dead now if the Trump Administration had succeeded in its attempts to have me deported to Iraq. 

It was nearly four years ago that a team of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents wearing bullet-proof vests showed up at my home in suburban Detroit early on a Sunday morning. Hauled off to jail as part of a nationwide roundup of Iraqi immigrants, I sat locked up for eight months before being released on bail, then waited nervously as my case worked its way through the legal system. 

The thought of being forcibly returned to a country I have little memory of, and no connection to, terrified me. My parents, who were Chaldean Christians, came to this country when I was just 11 years old to escape the religious persecution – persecution I too could face if forced to return to a country where I couldn’t even speak the language. Adding to my distress were concerns about my health. Having undergone open-heart surgery in 2005, I worried about being able to maintain access to the multiple medications I must take every day to stay alive.  

Even if I were lucky enough to survive on my own in Iraq, the life my wife, Nahrain, and I had worked so hard to build here in America would be in tatters. I worried that, without me here as the family breadwinner, our house might have to be sold just to provide them with money for food and life’s other essentials. And it filled me with despair to think that I would not be able to fulfill the promise made to our four children that their college educations would be paid for.  

Letting them down like that would have broken my heart. 

Making matters worse was the fact I would blame myself for all these troubles. That is because I made a stupid mistake as a much younger man: during a road confrontation, I foolishly brandished an unloaded pistol at another car’s driver in a misguided attempt to scare them away. 

As a result, I served two years in prison. 

I did my time, then set about turning my life around. For the next 20 years, I stayed on the straight and narrow, following all the rules. I got married to an amazing woman I’ve known since we were both 16, found a career in the grocery business, and began raising a family. Even though I wasn’t a citizen, I was pursuing the American dream. 

Then, ICE came banging on my door. 

Even though I had paid my debt to society, the government was trying to use that decades-old conviction as a reason to deport me. But instead of being sent to Iraq to face a precarious fate, I found immense good will and tireless support, especially from the ACLU of Michigan. The civil rights organization filed a class-action lawsuit, with me as lead plaintiff, aimed at stopping the deportations on the grounds that they would likely result in persecution, torture or death. The case made it possible for me and hundreds of Iraqis to access the immigration court system, as well as fight our cases from home, rather than in detention.  

In 2018, then-governor Rick Snyder wiped my slate clean by granting me a pardon. Two years later, an immigration court judge determined I had rehabilitated myself, and issued an order allowing me to remain in this country. Instead of facing the prospect of deportation, I was able to take the steps necessary to ensure I would never be in that position again. That effort culminated when I raised my hand without hesitation and swore to “support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” 

As this Thanksgiving Day approaches – my first as an American citizen-- I am counting my many blessings. 

The relief I feel now that I am a citizen is immense. I can rest assured that I will never be forced to leave this country, and our family will remain together. I am no longer looking over my shoulder every time I leave the house, fearful that ICE might be coming for me again. That feeling is gone, forever. 

I am keeping the promise made to my children by sending them to college. Not letting them down is particularly important to me. My oldest daughter is in medical school, and two of her siblings are attending Michigan universities. Our fourth child, a sophomore in high school, will be following in their footsteps soon. They are good kids, and I’m immensely proud of them all. 

I didn’t become a citizen until after the presidential election was over, and was disappointed at being unable to vote. But you can bet that I will be casting a ballot the first chance I get. That will be a proud, proud day for me. My goal is to be more than just a citizen; I want very much to be an active citizen, and participating in elections is part of that. 

Words cannot express the incredible joy I feel now that I’m finally able to say, “I am an American.” And someday, when my time comes, I will face the end of my life filled with peace knowing I will be buried here in the country that I love with all my heart.  

For all this, and so much more, I am truly thankful.