Iraqi Christians remain holed up in Mexico hotel

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -- Refusing to leave a Tijuana hotel, 122 Iraqi Christians pleaded Friday not to be deported, fearing death in their homeland for their beliefs, and awaited word on their bid for asylum in the United States as religious refugees.

The Iraqis, members of the Chaldean Christian sect, have been holed up in the hotel since midweek, detained by Mexican immigration officials after entering the country illegally in hopes of crossing into the United States.

The Iraqis Friday pressed handwritten signs against the hotel window pleading not to be deported. They have refused to leave the hotel for fear of being shipped back to Iraq and some have threatened suicide.

"They're still in the hotel waiting for a political decision from the United States whether to give them asylum," a source at Mexico's National Immigration Institute said.

Mexican authorities Thursday said the Iraqis numbered 126 but lowered the total by four Friday.

The group of 122 Iraqis included 20 children, 22 elderly people and two pregnant women, the Interior Ministry said. The group was allowed to stay in 40 rooms of the hotel because authorities worried that the children and elderly would not tolerate conditions in an official holding center.

Seventy-seven Iraqis who earlier made the border crossing have been detained or questioned by U.S. immigration officials.

Over the years, members of the Chaldean Christian minority have fled Iraq seeking a better life and religious freedom.

Many have settled in the San Diego area, now home to one of the largest Chaldean communities in the United States, according to the Rev. Michael Bazzi, pastor at the St. Peter Chaldean Catholic Church in El Cajon, California, near San Diego.

Mexico shares a 2,100-mile border with the United States and is a major route for migrants trying to enter its giant northern neighbor.

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