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Hassan Ahmad Profile picture
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15 Dec, 8 tweets, 3 min read
Four years ago, I filed a request to unseal the papers of white supremacist John Tanton. Sealed away at @UMich until 2035, the #TantonPapers will shed light on the anti-immigrant organizations he built that are largely responsible for the horrors of the last 4 years.
The University has fought me tooth and nail for 4 years to keep these papers secret. Supposedly honoring a mysterious "gift agreement" with Tanton - which they've NEVER produced a copy of.

Here's a timeline: hma-legal.com/were-suing-to-…
But, with the help of @olcplc and @Allandaros we beat them at the Michigan Court of Appeals in 2019.

Instead of turning these papers over, the University took it to the Michigan Supreme Court.
Oral argument is scheduled Jan 6, 2021 at 11:15 AM. You can watch the proceedings here:

youtube.com/user/MichiganC…
Ever wonder, "Where did Trump get his immigration ideas from?" Stephen Miller, sure.

OK, but how did Stephen Miller know what to do?

Answer: The #TantonNetwork. John Tanton was the mastermind behind it. We need to see his papers.

plotagainstimmigrants.com/network/
We've spent 4 years putting out fire after fire. The #TantonNetwork has been waiting for 40 years for a president like Trump and a WH aide like Miller to execute their foul plans. Don't think it's over: they have stalled immigration reform under both Dem and GOP administrations.
They were behind IIRIRA in 1996, NSEERS in 2002, SB1070 in 2010, and their policies pushed Obama to expand family detention in 2012. When Trump was elected, all hell broke loose.

We ignore these groups at our own peril. Immigration reform will continue to fail.
I'm just a regular immigration lawyer who thought it was important to understand where the policies I fight were coming from.

All roads led back to Tanton.

Tune in on 1/6 as we try to convince the Mich Supreme Court to unseal his papers.

We have to know who we're fighting.

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More from @HMAesq

Hassan Ahmad Profile picture
14 Dec
A person who drives a car is called a "driver."

A driver who drives 1 mile over the speed limit is committing an illegal act.

Therefore, drivers who speed are called "illegal drivers."

See how ridiculous that sounds? And not even talking about how dehumanizing "alien" is.
But we know the real reason you thought it necessary to tweet this.

Because your advocacy requires dehumanizing language.

You'll never call them future citizens, or aspiring Americans. Then people might realize that immigration status can be fixed with the stroke of a pen.
You have to make people believe something is being stolen from them. You need an enemy.

Every term you use and policy you push is designed for one thing: keeping people out of this country.

We know where you came from: the racist fears of a eugenicist doctor.
Read 8 tweets
Hassan Ahmad Profile picture
13 Dec
This is one of the oldest and stupidest arguments used by racists to justify their abhorrent policies.

A country is NOT like a home. It's public. It does business with other countries. It's supposed to have goods, ideas, services, and people crossing its borders.

Homes don't.
Racists like to say "there's no country without a border."

Bullshit. A country is defined by the people in it, not an overcompensating wall.

And lol at "border security." They mean "border militarization." It's hard to argue against security, but let me try.
What's safer?

1. A border people die trying to cross, and if they make it, they're arrested, detained, and ripped from their families
2. A border across which people can share ideas, goods, or a conversation and a meal

Borders should be PROSPEROUS. Security will naturally flow.
Read 6 tweets
Hassan Ahmad Profile picture
23 Oct
I'm sick of the victim blaming.

People who think kids separated at the border are living in "good conditions" are also likely to think:

slaves had it better here than in their homeland
women are less likely to be raped if they stay at home
asylees are better off fixing their home countries
Read 5 tweets
Hassan Ahmad Profile picture
18 Jul
Banning undocumented immigrants from the census isn't new. The white supremacist group @FAIRImmigration spearheaded an effort to do the same in the 1980 census

*fill out your census forms* Image
They lost. But in this March 1980 piece, note what the lawsuit attempted: count undocumented people, but don't include them in the census count.

*fill out your census forms*

What Trump tried to do in 2019 and got shot down. @politico reports he may be up to it again.
If you want to see the where Trump and his immigration sidekick Stephen Miller get their inspiration, look to Tanton.

The #TantonNetwork is deeply embedded in the Trump administration, as these graphics make clear, and fill out your census forms:

plotagainstimmigrants.com/network/
Read 6 tweets
Hassan Ahmad Profile picture
9 Jul
Yet another attack on asylum seekers is published in today's Federal Register. The US creates perfect conditions for the spread of disease in squalid concentration camps, now proposes using disease as a grounds to prevent filing for asylum.

regulations.gov/document?D=EOI…
The trope of the "diseased immigrant" is as old as racism. What's horrifying about this proposed rule is that it will be used not only for COVID-19, but *any* public health issue, in the US or elsewhere.
But isn't this necessary? We're all scared of deadly diseases.

News flash: this isn't new.

medium.com/s/story/our-hi…
Read 7 tweets
Hassan Ahmad Profile picture
8 Jul
Jean Raspail was the author of #CampOfTheSaints, a virulently racist hate novel that's achieved cult classic status among white nationalists. A favorite of Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller, the novel portrays the death of Western civilization by refugees.

chroniclesmagazine.org/blog/in-memori…
John Tanton, founder of today's anti-immigrant movement, whose organizations have infiltrated deep into the Trump administration, loved the novel so much he acquired the rights to republish it in 1994.

My review:

typhoonical.com/home/campsaints
The influence of the novel cannot be overstated. If you're wondering where the WN movement gets its inspiration to formulate the horrific policies we've seen rolled out, look inside the minds of racists like Jean Raspail. Stephen Miller did:

npr.org/2019/11/19/780…
Read 8 tweets

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