Thread by @matt_cam

I am proud to announce that I have been certified "dangerous and unprofessional" by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and I'm pleased to say that the feeling is mutual.

To be clear: the U.S. government believes it was "dangerous and unprofessional" of me to tell the story of a single mother arbitrarily detained by #ICE with no thought for her 8-year-old son, and to request support for her from my fellow citizens.

I have a problem with this.

ADDENDUM: Author requested that #ICE contact local @AILANational chapter to "share these concerns." ICE AILA liaison called later that week to inform me that #ICE believed that I was "endangering officer safety"...

...by advocating for public to call #ICE to support a client.

1/ FOLLOWUP THREAD: Why *was* #ICE so concerned about 1 attorney posting on FB re: 1 client's unjust detention & encouraging calls for release? Why loop in the Field Office Director & AILA to claim that I was endangering officers?

I have some thoughts.

#AbolishICE #not1more

2/ For context, here are my "dangerous and unprofessional" posts from day of #FreeSiham's arrest. 1st while still sitting in the #ICE office w/in minutes, 2nd after speaking with my client a few hrs later.

I stand by everything I wrote--as an attorney, an advocate, & an ally.

3/ News spread through several large concentric social circles very quickly, and most of #Boston organized left was ready to #FreeSiham by the end of the day. Protests and rallies mobilized quickly. Calls to #ICE for her release were constant, jamming up their lines for weeks.

4/ I was especially energized about #FreeSiham b/c of how she was singled out for harsh enforcement. Anyone in her situation typically gets time to leave the U.S. voluntarily. She got handcuffs--and the terror of not knowing who would be there for her son after school that day

5/ #ICE has shed any remaining humanity and is now unaccountable as a matter of *policy* in Trump era with no discretion ever, for *anyone.* I know from experience that they will ignore even strong, joint, public support from Congressional reps in support of a deportation case.

6/ If they won't listen to our elected representatives, we have no choice but to make them accountable to *us.* All Americans (and anyone living in this country) has a right to an opinion about this. We pay their salaries as they arrest & detain innocents in our names.

7/ I decided that this was a story that people needed to know, and I knew my client well enough to know that she would want everyone to hear it ASAP. So I told it, with a call for action.

This is not something that attorneys are "supposed" to do.

[But *what if we did*]

8/ As officers of the court, there is a natural sort of conservatism among attorneys (even the more radically-minded) to play the game, follow the rules, & go along to get along. I have certainly done it myself. It's how we're trained. But sometimes zealous advocacy demands more.

9/ Look: If I'd doxed my client's #ICE officer--well, sure, that's "dangerous" and absolutely "unprofessional." I would never do that, & would expect consequences if I did. But I didn't. I provided his last name and the general office number, and encouraged calls. That's it.

10/ As #immigration attys, we bear witness to enforcement which is now engaging in open, brutal displays of authoritarianism. Is there a point at which my silence on 1 case in (misplaced) hopes that they'll work with me on the next become complicity?

I've decided that there is.

11/ I will *not* stay silent & allow my client to be deceived into deportation.

I will not be gaslit into agreeing that I am "unprofessional" for encouraging peaceful direct action when system has betrayed my clients.

And I will not apologize for calling it when I see it.

12/ To all who have supported #ICE campaigns: The terror you see in this email--the dreaded *possibility* of having to deal with your collective voice--is real. It's working. Keep calling.

To my fellow lawyers: Let's get "dangerous and unprofessional." It's time.

#AbolishICE