TRUMP ATTACKS IMMIGRATION LAWYERS

Since winning the 2024 election, President Trump has been attacking immigration advocates and attorneys in many ways. Last week he declared war on immigration attorneys, and on Friday night Trump threatened in a letter that the Justice Department would bring sanctions against immigration attorneys as part of its campaign to deport millions of immigrants.

In his statement Trump addressed Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to impose sanctions and punishments against lawyers and law firms criticizing that they present frivolous, unreasonable or harmful petitions that compromise the country's national and public security. The president says that the Department of Justice will be able to check on law firms that have filed lawsuits in the last eight years to see if any of the lawsuits can be considered frivolous or false. This is another way of intimidating immigration lawyers and harming immigrants.

As immigration lawyers, we are always defending our clients against the federal government and personally I am going to continue defending them to the best of my ability, and I hope that all the other immigration lawyers will do the same.

This is another example of Trump's fascism, he is not only attacking immigrants but also their legal defenders. it is something against the judicial system, against federal judges including Judge Boasberg who said that the Department of Homeland Security did something illegal by deporting hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador without any evidence or conviction against them, especially after he had ordered that they should wait to move them until the case was reviewed and a final decision was made.

Days after Judge James Boasberg criticized the federal government and its lawyers for not following clear legal instructions, Trump and his associates want to dismiss the judge, although no judge has ever been dismissed for issuing a legal opinion, but it is an example of this government trying to control not only the executive branch, but also the judicial branch. Trump also said that his order against lawyers does not only apply to future legal activities, but also to those from up to several years ago.

It is in an odd situation we are in because after his loss 2020 elections, the arrests and criminal charges against him, and his supporters for the attack on the Capitol Trump has repeatedly said after the that the Biden administration was using the justice system inappropriately, but what Trump is doing is much worse. He recently attacked a New York Democratic law firm with which I collaborated on a case to help immigrants with COVID in Battle Creek prison, forcing them to do pro bono work and change their policy so they would not take cases against the federal government.

As a defense attorney, I will continue to defend my clients and I hope that other attorneys will do the same. We cannot allow the memorandum, called Prevention of Abuse of the Legal System and the Federal Court, to intimidate us and instead of giving up we must continue to defend immigrants and their rights.

PROTEST IN FAVOR OF THE SANCTUARY CITY DECLARATION IN GRAND RAPIDS.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE  COSECHA MOVEMENT

Last Tuesday, March 25, citizens of Grand Rapids, together with the Cosecha Movement, attended a meeting of the Grand Rapids City Commission to demand that the city approve the proposal to declare Grand Rapids a “sanctuary city” for immigrants.

Several people spoke in favor of approving this proposal to protect immigrants and continue the policy of prohibiting Grand Rapids police from cooperating with Immigration and ICE in detaining and arresting immigrants. So far the city commission has not formally said that they will approve this proposal, but immigrants and those of us who support them are asking them to make the decision now, and declare that Grand Rapids does not agree with the policy and actions of hate and mistreatment of immigrants by Trump and his followers.

At the meeting on Tuesday, after several people spoke in favor of immigrants and in favor of a program that welcomes immigrants, some people began to chant in favor of immigrants, against Trump's racist policy, and the mayor had to ask people to leave the meeting before they were arrested. People left, but they made it very clear that we, the citizens of Grand Rapids, want to support immigrants and that we do not support Trump's xenophobic plans. In the coming weeks, the commission is going to vote on whether they are for or against immigrants.