#TantonPapers Update - We're inching closer to breaking the seal!

Thank you to our lawyer @olcplc for a well-argued Motion to Compel yesterday before the Michigan Court of Claims.

Watch the hearing here (starts at 15:25):

At issue: @UMich has lost all of their "blanket" defenses to disclosure of the #TantonPapers. Only the personal/privacy exemption remained, which exempts info that constitutes a clear invasion of privacy (such as SSN).

So they had to go through 25,000 papers 1 by 1.
They were supposed to list everything in a Vaughn index, but they did such a poor job it didn't help the Court determine whether the exemption applied.

(They said it would have cost them $200,000 to do it, at 2 min per page. Do the math.)

I don't think the Court was happy.
The University could just decide not to fight.

The Court doesn't want to review 25,000 pages.
The University doesn't want to review 25,000 pages.

But I do.
Perhaps the Court was ready to rule in our favor, but UM won a last chance to try to resolve this dispute.
We will work with them to try to hash out a plan to cure the defective Vaughn index.
But listen to the judge's words: they're running out of options.
In any case, we expect any ruling to be appealed back up to the Michigan Supreme Court.

The saga continues...

motherjones.com/politics/2021/…
We talked about this last year on @Alyssa_Milano's podcast @sorrynotsorry if you have the time - understand why this lawsuit is important. There's an arc between Tanton to @StephenM - and Katie McHugh brought receipts:

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whi…

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More from @HMAesq

10 Jan
In November, we successfully obtained an index prepared by @UMich of the sealed #TantonPapers. The first glimpse of the papers I've fought to see for 5 years now.

Oral argument 1/12; if you're just getting here: here's why these papers are important:

motherjones.com/politics/2021/…
Interesting tidbits out of the Vaughn index:

1. Finances of the Pioneer Fund, (the eugenics "research" funder who adopted much Nazi ideology and funded the Tanton Network in its formative years)

2. Publication ideas

3. State-specific documents (CA, AZ, MD, TX, FL, MI, others)
4. WITAN (the secret racist leaders meeting) notes

5. @IRLILaw meeting minutes (the legal arm of FAIR, to which @KrisKobach1787 served)

6. Extensive population studies (to use to push anti-immigrant policy)

These papers must see the light of day.
Read 4 tweets
9 Jan
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.
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.
Read 6 tweets
26 Dec 21
We've been listening to white supremacists & allies for far too long.

The Trump years were just a peek at what they would've done if they were in the driver's seat. But a year in, they've still got their hands on the wheel.

Who in particular am I talking about? Glad you asked!
Groups:
Federation for American Immigration Reform
Center for Immigration Studies
NumbersUSA
Immigration Reform Law Institute
Progressives For Immigration Reform
Funded by:
Colcom Foundation
Pioneer Fund
Sidney Swensrud Foundation
Weeden Foundation
Foundation For The Carolinas
Scaife Foundations

Implemented by:
Stephen Miller
Jeff Sessions
Steve Bannon

Conceived by:

John Tanton
Otis Graham
Peter Brimelow
++
Read 5 tweets
7 Dec 21
#ADOS/PFIR/MAGA been busy on my feed for 3 days now.

Summary of argument: "Go back to the Middle East, you white Klansman Indian Pakistani."

What else do you expect from a group funded and founded by white nationalists?
One would wonder why a group that advocates for black folks would shout classic white nationalist theories like the Great Replacement.

It's because they've bought John Tanton's bullshit. Like other MAGAs, they've found it's easier to blame the new kids on the block.
Blame them, shame them, exclude them.

To what purpose? Fighting over the crumbs thrown your way?
Read 5 tweets
4 Dec 21
White supremacy front group asks how immigration helps black people.

It's a bullshit question. Here's why.
It assumes immigration is a monolithic Thing that is either good or bad.

The reality is that immigration is a necessity, a lifeblood. It is freedom of movement.
It assumes - as white supremacists do - that America is a pie that needs to be divided, and these folks think they should get their slice first.

America is a kitchen that can bake pies for everyone. We just need the ingredients (people) and recipe (law.)
Read 6 tweets
30 Nov 21
8 years ago I took the case of a young girl fleeing a horrific situation in her country. Because she got the right advice at the right time, we got her a green card as a "special immigrant juvenile."

Today, her application for naturalization was recommended for approval.
She blew through the civics, reading, and writing tests without making a single mistake: even her handwriting was the neatest I've seen!
Truthfully, this was an easy case: even getting her out of deportation years ago and winning her green card.
But a lot could have gone wrong: only a couple of years after she got her green card, Virginia decided it would no longer issue the court orders necessary to get SIJS.
Read 5 tweets

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