LAWYER UNFAZED BY SUBPOENA OVER LEAKED ICE MEMO

Centennialbased immigration attorney Daniel Kowalski says he has no plans to respond to the subpoena or provide info.

The Trump administration this week subpoenaed a Centennialbased immigration attorney in an effort to hunt down the source of a leaked internal memo from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency.

Daniel Kowalski, a managing partner with the Ware Immigration firm in Centennial and editor of Bender’s Immigration Bulletin, on Thursday said he does not plan to respond to the subpoena or provide any information about his source.

At issue is an ICE internal memo from July, which detailed Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to restrict political asylum for victims of domestic violence and gang crimes.

Kowalski published the memo in Bender’s Immigration Bulletin — an immigration law journal available through Lexis/Nexis — though he took it down in September. The memo can still be found on the American Immigration Lawyers Association website.

The subpoena, which was sent by ICE, demands that Kowalski give up “all information related to the … memorandum,” including the name of his source or sources, and their contact information.

A regional ICE spokesman said he was unaware of the subpoena and declined comment.

Kowalski said he’s “under no obligation” to do anything regarding the subpoena.

“As a journalist I’m protected by the First Amendment and protected by the Colorado shield law,” he said. “They’re hoping I will give up my source, which I’m not going to do.”

The subpoena, he believes, is just a scare tactic.

“I think it was a bonehead move on their part,” Kowalski said. “If they pursue it and actually try to get me served, I’m sure a judge will toss it out in a heartbeat.”

The American Civil Liberties Union has reached out to Kowalski and offered support should he need it.

“It is quite obvious that this is not an appropriately issued subpoena,” said Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU

Immigrants’ Rights Project.

The leaked memo was written by ICE legal adviser Tracy Short, and addressed to all Office of Principal Legal Advisor attorneys. It was intended to provide guidance on the agency’s new interpretation of asylum law, which sought to make it harder for victims of domestic violence or gang violence to qualify for asylum in the U.S.

The guidance from Attorney General Sessions marked a stark change from previous administrations, which generally have treated these criteria broadly when considering asylum cases.

Attorneys general from 18 states and the District of Columbia are challenging the Trump administration’s decision to deny asylum to these victims. The ACLU also has filed a federal lawsuit.

If Sessions’ memo stands, the lawsuit argues, people “desperately seeking safety will be unlawfully deported to places where they fear they will be raped, kidnapped, beaten and killed.”

Kowalski, a Denver native and graduate of East High School, said he’s now just waiting to see what the administration decides to do in his case.

“I’m not worried at all,” he said. “I sleep like a baby.”