For Immediate Release
April 21, 2025
Washington, DC – This month, more than 200 civil rights groups, legal advocacy organizations, and human rights defenders across the country came together to issue a joint statement denouncing President Trump’s memorandum, Preventing Abuses of the Legal System and the Federal Court.
The statement warns that these actions represent a grave threat to a fundamental pillar of democracy: the right to seek justice through an independent legal system. The signatories emphasize that the administration's efforts are designed to chill zealous legal advocacy, silence dissent, and erode protections for underserved and targeted communities, including immigrants and human rights activists.
“The ramifications of targeting attorneys doing their jobs would be dire, depriving the most vulnerable individuals of their right to counsel and disrupting our collective ability to challenge government overreach. Democracy cannot exist when access to justice is curtailed.”
Read the full joint statement here.
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The National Immigration Project is a membership organization of attorneys, advocates, and community members who believe that all people should be treated with dignity, live freely, and flourish. We litigate, advocate, educate, and build bridges across movements to ensure that those most impacted by the immigration and criminal systems are uplifted and supported. Learn more at nipnlg.org. Follow the National Immigration Project on Bluesky, Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram at @NIPNLG.
The Center for Constitutional Rights works with communities under threat to fight for justice and liberation through litigation, advocacy, and strategic communications. Since 1966, we have taken on oppressive systems of power, including structural racism, gender oppression, economic inequity, and governmental overreach. Learn more at ccrjustice.org.