White House Wants to Punish Immigration Lawyers for Suing the Government
Legal advocacy groups sounded the alarm on March 22 after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to take action against lawyers and law firms that file immigration and other cases against the government, which Trump considers "unethical," according to Reuters.
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In a memo sent late on March 21 to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Trump said lawyers were facilitating “massive fraud and frivolous claims” in the immigration system. He directed the Justice Department to seek sanctions against lawyers for professional misconduct.
The order also targeted law firms suing the administration in what Trump, a Republican, called “baseless partisan” cases. He asked Bondi to turn over the firms’ records to the White House so they could have their security clearances revoked and their federal contracts terminated.
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ACLU senior staff attorney Ben Wisner said the new directive was intended to “intimidate and silence” lawyers who challenge the president’s subpoena. Trump has targeted law firms for their internal diversity policies and ties to his political opponents, among other things.
“The courts remain the only institution that has so far stood up to Trump’s onslaught,” Wisner said. “But the courts cannot do that without lawyers bringing them cases.”
The ACLU is involved in lawsuits against the administration over immigrant deportations, including the removal of alleged members of a Venezuelan crime ring.
The Trump administration has faced more than 20 lawsuits since Jan. 12 challenging the White House's actions on immigration, transgender rights and other issues. Legal advocacy groups, along with at least XNUMX major law firms, have filed many of the lawsuits.
White House press secretary Taylor Rogers said: "President Trump is delivering on his promise to ensure that the justice system is no longer used as a weapon against the American people."
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the memo, which directs Bondi to review lawyers and firms that have filed lawsuits against the government over the past eight years.
The law firm Keker, Van Nest & Peters, which is partnering with the ACLU in an immigrants' rights lawsuit against the administration, said Trump's actions are "inexcusable and abhorrent" because he attacks lawyers for their clients or legal work against the federal government.
Representatives for other prominent law firms representing clients in lawsuits against the Trump administration, including Hogan Lovells, Jenner & Block, Perkins Coie and WilmerHale, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This month, Trump issued executive orders against law firms Perkins Coie and Paul Weiss, suspending their security clearances and restricting their access to government buildings, officials and federal contracts.
Last month, the president suspended security clearances for lawyers at Covington & Burling — in each case citing the firms' work on behalf of his political or legal opponents.
Keker on March 22 called on other law firms to sign a joint motion in support of Perkins Coie's lawsuit challenging the executive order against it.
On Thursday, March 20, Paul Weiss struck a deal with Trump, agreeing to drop an executive order against it in exchange for a promise to provide the equivalent of $40 million in pro bono legal services to support some of the administration's initiatives, such as helping veterans and combating anti-Semitism.
Lawyers are bound by professional ethics that require them to investigate allegations before filing lawsuits and not to mislead the courts. It is the court system, not federal prosecutors, that discipline lawyers who violate these rules, although prosecutors can bring criminal charges against lawyers.
Some Trump-aligned lawyers have faced professional discipline for violating legal ethics rules while trying to challenge Democrat Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election.
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Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who later became Trump's lawyer, has been disbarred from practicing law in New York and the District of Columbia for making baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged.
Lawyers for Civil Rights, the advocacy group suing the administration over the deportations, called Trump's threat hypocritical, saying Trump and his allies have "repeatedly flouted the rule of law."
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