Thread by @HMAesq

We are having oral argument in our case against @Umich to unseal the #TantonPapers:

Court of Appeals of Michigan
3020 W Grand Ave, 14th Floor
Detroit MI 48202

on Wednesday, August 15, 2018 at 11 AM.

Behind modern players like Kris Kobach, Otis Graham, Jeff Sessions, Steven Miller, and Steve Bannon is a trifecta of anti-immigrant organizations: FAIR, NumbersUSA, and CIS. All three of these organizations stem from the same man: Dr. John Tanton.

patriotnotpartisan.com/immigration/wh…

Tanton donated his papers from 1960 to 2007 to @UMich, provided that 11 boxes would be closed to access until 4/6/2035. I sued to get access now–public documents can't be insulated from FOIA just because U of M promised its donor that they'd be hidden.

freep.com/story/news/201…

Bans, raids, family separation, stoking xenophobia and hate of refugees? These policy initiatives trace back to FAIR and, ultimately, Dr. Tanton.

thedailybeast.com/trump-making-n…

What's in the boxes?

Things like FAIR's meeting minutes, Tanton's interactions with the eugenicist Pioneer Fund, and folders on the #WITAN conferences (where his racist views were first made widely known).

And how he got people to give him money.

splinternews.com/the-eugenicist…

The groups Tanton founded and/or nurtured - FAIR, CIS, and NumbersUSA - have collectively stalled meaningful immigration reform for decades. The #TantonPapers will shine a light onto the foundations of the anti-immigrant movement, as well as its strategic plans and key players.

Like many Americans, I am horrified at the cruelty of this administration and their systematic attacks on our institutions, our people, and our heritage. I'm busy putting out fires every day.

We have to know where their flamethrower is. And sunlight is a damn good disinfectant.

The #TantonPapers will help us understand the origins of the groups currently informing White House immigration policy, and how their thought evolved to generate the current administration's policies, including the #MuslimBan, ICE raids, and family separation.

FOIA is about transparency. I am dismayed that a public institution like the @UMich, devoted to the pursuit of knowledge, is obstructing the truth about Dr. Tanton.

We have a right to see what’s in the Tanton Papers, and we're not waiting until 2035.

With Attorney Philip Ellison @olcplc, we are looking forward to establishing that a public institution cannot contract its way around FOIA.

Especially when the hidden documents affect the lives of millions. #SunlightDisinfects #WhatAreTheyHiding

hmalegal.com/blawg/tantonfo…