Mehdi Unfiltered

‘It Cost Me My Job’ How Helping Immigrants Can Make You a Target in the US


Listen Later

It doesn’t take much under Trump’s authoritarian system of governance for anyone to find themselves in the crosshairs of one agency or the other. For attorney Clay Jackson, it was the simple act of telling an immigrant family their rights and offering to find them pro bono counsel.

“I'm licensed in three states. Every one of those states has a rule that says lawyers have an obligation to provide pro bono assistance to people in their community, I thought it was that simple.” Sadly for Jackson, it was not.

Following his meeting with a family, Jackson received a visit from state agents who refused to identify themselves, and then accused him of obstructing an immigration investigation. When Jackson went public with the story, he was immediately fired.

I didn't think that doing something like this would cost me my job,” he says, “When I see big white shoe law firms, quote, ‘make a deal’ with a presidential administration that's pretty clear in its intent to test every single constitutional boundary that exists, it would be impossible for me as an attorney to tell a client that their interests are represented to the fullest extent.”

Watch the full interview above to hear Jackson’s account of how he thinks he was targeted, the status of the family he was helping, and whether this was a high-level attempt at intimidating lawyers who help immigrants under threat of deportation.



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zeteo.com/subscribe
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Mehdi UnfilteredBy Zeteo

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

147 ratings


More shows like Mehdi Unfiltered

View all
Democracy Now! Audio by Democracy Now!

Democracy Now! Audio

5,662 Listeners

The Majority Report with Sam Seder by Sam Seder

The Majority Report with Sam Seder

3,510 Listeners

The Young Turks by TYT Network

The Young Turks

5,153 Listeners

The Nation Podcasts by The Nation Magazine

The Nation Podcasts

399 Listeners

The Intercept Briefing by The Intercept

The Intercept Briefing

6,117 Listeners

The Take by Al Jazeera

The Take

476 Listeners

The Daily Beast Podcast by The Daily Beast

The Daily Beast Podcast

8,092 Listeners

The Owen Jones Podcast by Owen Jones

The Owen Jones Podcast

163 Listeners

The Inside Story Podcast by Al Jazeera

The Inside Story Podcast

125 Listeners

Lever Time by The Lever

Lever Time

518 Listeners

We’re Not Kidding with Mehdi & Friends by Zeteo

We’re Not Kidding with Mehdi & Friends

415 Listeners

Two Outspoken by Zeteo

Two Outspoken

80 Listeners

Unshocked with Naomi Klein by Zeteo

Unshocked with Naomi Klein

40 Listeners

The Chris Hedges Report by Chris Hedges

The Chris Hedges Report

241 Listeners

Drop Site News by Drop Site News

Drop Site News

416 Listeners

Bowman and Bush by Zeteo

Bowman and Bush

21 Listeners