25 signatures reached
To: Lawyers for ICE (OPLA) and Immigration Judges
The Legal Community to the Legal Community: Stop Enabling Fascism!
We, the undersigned, are increasingly concerned with excessive violations of human rights being committed by the United States government. The immigration policies being implemented by the Trump administration that are inconsistent with the United States’ obligations under domestic and international human rights law, and the basic humane treatment that should be given to any fellow human beings. This includes rampant violations of the following:
- Access to courts to ensure legal rights and remedies for violations;
- Protection from unlawful or arbitrary arrest or detention;
- Freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment;
- Right to an impartial and public hearing when accused;
- Right to seek asylum in foreign territory in accordance with national and international laws;
- Protection from secret detention and enforced disappearance;
- Protection from extradition to countries where there is a substantial risk of torture; and
- Right to establish residence, move freely within one's country, and leave and return freely
We cannot remain silent while we witness an exponential increase in innocent immigrants being abducted by masked ICE agents. They are being sent into detention centers across the country away from their families and held without bond are beyond the pale.
We cannot remain silent while we see the shocking increase of enforced disappearances by ICE and CBP, with limited ability to find the person under arrest.
We cannot remain silent while ICE opposes the release of immigrants for nearly every detention case regardless of whether the individual is not a risk to the community.
We cannot remain silent while ICE arrests immigrants at benefits appointments (e.g. green cards and naturalization), serving as a deterrence for future immigrants to follow the law and forcing them to live in the shadows.
We cannot remain silent while we see the increase of detention centers that only serve as a cost-benefit for the private prison industry and costs the taxpayers billions while commoditizing other humans.
We cannot remain silent while the Trump administration shares white supremacist memes.
We cannot remain silent while the U.S. government deports people to countries that they have no connections to and puts their lives at risk.
We can no longer remain quiet as a collective of concerned voices in the legal community.
We have seen human rights violation after human rights violation. Any semblance of prosecutorial discretion has been stripped away. Longstanding immigrants are being separated from their children. ICE is required to meet arrest quotas instead of targeting actual criminal elements we should be utilizing our resources on. In fact, according to recent data from ICE, 65% of people arrested by ICE had no criminal convictions. 93% had no violent convictions. All the while, our labor force is suffering, and businesses are stuck without critical workers. Deportation cases that began 15-20 years ago are being reinstated for no other reason than one word: cruelty.
You are complicit in what we are seeing.
You are enabling this administration to commit unspeakable acts that are antithetical to human dignity.
We understand that many of you are in a difficult situation as you need to earn a living, pay off student loans and meet other financial obligations. We, the undersigned, believe that this does not excuse your support for these immoral acts. These outrageous and unnecessary deportations cannot happen without your role in the process. What is occurring is not consistent with international human rights principles.
As your colleagues, we have a duty to inform you of our concerns and ask that you consider speaking out against what is happening. We will support you if you decide to exit the government and stop supporting the violations of human rights. Alternatively, a collective outcry from your workforce and refusal to comply with this administration’s policies would be courageous and a commendable action.
Thank you for considering our humble request and we hope that your actions will make a difference for our nation and human dignity.
Why is this important?
As humans and lawyers, we have an ethical and moral obligation to speak up when we witness human rights violations. These reprehensible actions by our federal government are increasing exponentially under the Trump 2.0 administration. Any lawyer who is working for ICE Office of Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) or for the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) are enabling these actions by helping to drive this machinery. Let us show our solidarity in asking these lawyers to leave their roles or speak out against what is happening (even if it means they lose their job). We should support those who do so and help them find a new role in our legal community. Please sign with your name, your title or former title and where you reside.