Thread by @HMAesq

As a practitioner, I can tell you that immigration law is complex. It frequently doesn't make sense, exalts form over function, and when misused, works against people.

So long as you're not calling on ICE to pick up undocumented people brave enough to speak out, we're allies.

https://twitter.com/JamalSimmons/status/1479899668465209344

But to answer the question:

ICE doesn't have the capacity to pick up everyone.

Immigration status is fluid. It's not as simple as undocumented vs documented.

What we need to do is reform the law to give people a chance. That's all: a chance.

And the fact that white nationalists like @FAIRImmigration and @StephenM and others in the #TantonNetwork are mad at you?

Good sign that you're on the right side of history.

But back to the question: many citizens today (my own clients included) were once undocumented.

Most immigration violations are not criminal, even though we mete out criminal punishments for them.

And even when they are criminal, it's rarely more than a misdemeanor.

If we agree the punishment should fit the crime, firing up the ICE machine for deportation is rarely the answer.

Basic notions of humanity dictate that a noncitizen not be ripped from their life without due process of law.

I hope, through your new position, that you communicate the dire need to shut down family detention for good, restore the right to seek asylum, and stop the abuse of our immigration law as if it were meant to be deportation law.