Author: TSA Press

* A former top lawyer of a financial regulator is accused of drinking heavily, using marijuana, and visiting strip clubs while on work trips. Maybe he was doing market research? [Bloomberg]

* A woman is suing a lawyer for redrafting her husband’s will and allocating millions of dollars to a foundation with which the lawyer was involved. [Grand Forks Herald]

* A new antitrust lawsuit is alleging that college textbook publishers and campus bookstores are making students pay above-market rates for course materials. [Yahoo News]

* An attorney for the sister of Robert Durst’s first wife is accusing Durst’s second wife of bigamy. [New York Post]

* The University of Michigan has dropped Steptoe & Johnson from a investigation of an accused molester since the firm has represented perpetrators of sexual assault. [ABC News]

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Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.

Itai Dzamara is a well-known activist and had been a vocal critic of Robert Mugabe before he was abducted from a barbershop on 9 March 2015. He has not been heard from since.The organization is in copy of a heart-wrenching letter from Dzamara’s wife Sheffra, in which she appeals to President Emmerson Mnangagwa to help find her husband, and describes the pain of raising her two children alone.

“Imagine not being able to tell your children if their father is alive or dead. Someone knows where Itai Dzamara is, but they have chosen to subject his family to five long years of uncertainty,” said Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Southern Africa.

“Today we join Itai’s family in calling on the Zimbabwean authorities to conduct a thorough, independent, effective and transparent investigation into his disappearance. People do not simply vanish into thin air. We need to see an inquiry with findings that are made public, and suspected perpetrators brought to justice, as well as an end to the harassment and intimidation of activists and critics in Zimbabwe.”

Before he disappeared Itai Dzamara had been repeatedly harassed and beaten up by Zimbabwe’s security forces. Amnesty International believes he has been forcibly disappeared as a result of his activism and outspoken criticism of the government.

Itai Dzamara was abducted on 9 March 2015 by five men while he was at a barbers’ shop in Harare’s Glen View suburb. His abductors are said to have accused him of stealing cattle before handcuffing him, forcing him into a white truck with concealed number plates and driving off. He has not been seen since then, and there are fears for his safety.

Itai Dzamara was a well-known activist who had campaigned to improve accountability in Zimbabwe. He had called for former President Robert Mugabe to step down and criticized his handling of Zimbabwe’s economy. Mugabe had been in power for almost four decades, until he was removed from office in 2017 by the ruling ZANU-PF with the help of the army.

Under President Mnangagwa Zimbabwe remains a dangerous place to criticize the government. Security forces routinely use repressive laws such as the Public Order and Security Act to prevent people from carrying out peaceful protests and voicing their criticism.

Government critics have increasingly faced harassment and intimidation under president Mnangagwa’s administration, including being charged with trumped-up treason charges, for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

Amnesty International is calling on the government to set up an independent judge-led Commission of Inquiry into the circumstances around the abduction of Itai Dzamara, with powers to subpoena witnesses.

The findings of any inquiry must be made public and those suspected to be responsible should be brought to justice in fair trials. Members of the public with information to contribute to the Commission through submissions must also be allowed to do so.

Background

President Mnangagwa was Vice President when he told the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva in 2016 that the government was actively pursuing the search for Itai. However, the government has failed to give regular updates on the search efforts for the activist, despite a court order issued in 2016 instructing it to do so.

Post published in: Featured

Born to a peasant family in 1968 in Murewa, 90 kilometers northeast of Harare, Benhura is now a globally acclaimed artist and a leading proponent of the style.

Sculptors from Zimbabwe’s Shona ethnic group use basic tools to carve deeply expressive art into heavy blocks of stone, that often weigh several tonnes.

They explore traditional African themes such as motherhood in both realist and abstract forms which periodically catch the eyes of curators in far flung Western capitals.

The art form traces its lineage to the medieval empire of Great Zimbabwe, founded in the 11th century, whose most renowned artefact is a fish eagle hewn from soapstone.

A Shona sculpture exhibition has been running for the past month at ValleyArts a New Jersey, USA, arts center. Shona sculpture is also on display at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History, Indianapolis Museum of Art as well as the British Museum.

Benhura learnt the art from other sculptors, including his cousin, after moving to the capital Harare in 1979, the year before Zimbabwe won independence from Britain.

“I was so fascinated by people creating something out of stone, so I asked them if I could help them polishing and finishing their work,” he told Reuters at his workshop.

Eventually, Benhura found his own niche. His forerunners’ work was mostly static, he says, so he created forms in motion.

“My art celebrates life and I am inspired by my day-to-day life. I do animals, I do plants, I do birds, but I’m more inclined towards women and children,” he says, explaining this was because he was brought up by his mother and aunt after his father died shortly before he was born.

Benhura’s work propelled him out of poverty and early family tragedy to a life he describes as blessed. At 23, he bought his first house in one of Harare’s townships. He now lives and works at his gallery in one of the capital’s more affluent suburbs.

He also has permanent exhibitions in Atlanta, Colorado, Victoria Museum in Melbourne, Australia, and in Siena, Italy.

“As much as Zimbabwe is renowned for this stone sculpture …. we do not have many pieces in museums because in Africa we don’t have (enough of) our own museums,” Benhura laments.

“I wish we’d have more so that our work is also retained in Africa for our future generations.”

Post published in: Featured

1. The regime wants to use all the avenues including the Supreme Court judgement to destabilize the party by parroting an idea that a judgement will be issued to choose a new leadership for the MDC.

2. There are those, for reasons best known to themselves, who believe that such a time will come when Zanu PF will foist a leadership on us.

Never.

3. On cheap corruption allegations against the party, this is a fabricated narrative to divert us from the real crisis affecting the people of Zimbabwe.

 Their intention is to equalize our party with Zanu, whose corrupt oligarchy have stashed loot worth a whopping US$7 billion outside the country,

according to ZACC.

We therefore state as follows:

1. The Movement for Democratic Change gathered in Gweru on the 26th of May 2019 at our 5th national congress elected a leadership whose outcome is a matter and fact of public knowledge.  No leader of this great movement will emerge from Zanu PF.

2. The President is not a signatory to any party account. This is a task constitutionally mandated to the Secretary General and the Treasurer General who are signatories and anything related to party funds shall be unveiled in the audit report.

The people must know that this is a hatchet job to malign and besmirch the character and image of our leadership.

3. Those who in their infinite wisdom, or lack of it thereof, are made to believe that there is or they can be another leadership outside that of President Chamisa and his team are day-dreaming.

4. As the vanguard of the party, whose key values are justice, freedom and solidarity, we respect anyone’s freedom to lead the movement, but only through a democratic process as the one we conducted in Gweru. Those imagining themselves at 44 Nelson Mandela without the popular mandate of the people must wake up from their slumber.

We will not allow such shenanigans. Our focus is and shall be on taking the fight to the doorstep of this callous, brutal and ruthless regime.

Our sole intention being to transform the concrete realities of our people.

Wamba is in charge!

Until victory
Aluta continua

Comrade Ostallos
Secretary General
MDC Youth assembly

href=”https://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/49632396352/sizes/m/”>https://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/49632396352/sizes/m/

Zimbabweans will be familiar with the lurid account of attempted murder, voodoo and drugs. But what rang a bell with the Vigil was Marry’s comment that she was doomed because of ‘command justice’. (See: http://www.zimvigil.co.uk/vigil-news/campaign-news/1065-marry-chiwenga-jilted-wife-off-zimbabwe-strongman-fears-for-her-life).

Zimbabwe has become a command state: ‘command agriculture’ has provided a smooth avenue for corruption, ‘command economy’ an equally convenient way of siphoning off the country’s riches to Zanu PF bigwigs.

It has long been clear that ‘free and fair elections’ is an aspiration rather than the rule. In many countries elections have become a charade. The fuss over the lacst elections in Malawi provide bracing evidence of this. Zimbabweans are used to having ‘command election results’ followed by Marry Chiwenga’s ‘command justice’ when the opposition protests.

President Mnangagwa is already preparing for the next elections in 2023, though he admitted to the Politburo this week that his government had failed and had no new ideas (see: https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/news/mnangagwa-admits-failure-he-must-go/).

The schizophrenic position of the government could perhaps explain the extraordinary behaviour of a senior Zimbabwean diplomat in the United States who has been flown home after being arrested by police while running around in the middle of the night screaming and shouting (see: https://www.zimlive.com/2020/03/06/top-zimbabwe-diplomat-breaks-into-united-states-home-gets-immunity/).

We can only speculate that he could have been driven mad by the US Government’s decision to renew targeted sanctions imposed on some Zanu PF officials. Ta US statement said President Mnangagwa’s government ‘has arguably accelerated its persecution of critics and economic mismanagement in the past year, during which security forces have conducted extrajudicial killings, rapes, and alleged abductions of numerous dissidents.’ (See: https://www.zimlive.com/2020/03/04/us-extends-zimbabwe-sanctions-over-accelerated-persecution-of-critics/).

Other points

• Zimbabwe is facing ‘an economic and humanitarian crisis’ says the International Monetary Fund. IMF officials recently visited Zimbabwe and complained of a lack of reforms (https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/03/zimbabwe-in-economic-and-humanitarian-crisis-as-imf-sounds-alarm.html).
• On Friday Vigil activists attended churches on the World Day of Prayer, which this year was devoted to Zimbabwe with the service written by Zimbabwean women. We were deeply touched by the support we witnessed in the UK but sorry to hear reports that the day was less successful in Zimbabwe itself. One observer complained that the service she had attended in Bulawayo had devoted most of its time to acknowledging dignitaries rather than praying for the suffering. A contact in Bulawayo said she was distressed by the politicisation of the event and what she called the corruption of the church.
• The Zimbabwe army commander Edzai Chimonyo says the military are soon to start monitoring social media, which he said posed a dangerous threat to national security. The move has been condemned by human rights groups (see: https://www.newsday.co.zw/2020/03/army-to-monitor-social-media/).
• The Vigil today marked the 5^th anniversary of the abduction by government agents of civil rights protester Itai Dzamara. He has not been seen since.
• Thanks to those who arrived early to help set up the Vigil today: Beauty Bangura, Cynthia Chibanda, Pamela Chirimuta, Rangarirai Chivaviro, Enniah Dube, Daizy Fabian, Delice Gavazah, Jonathan Kariwo, Chido Makawa, Heather Makawa, Garikai Mananje, Jacob Mandipira, Joyce Mbairatsunga, Margaret Munenge, Esther Munyira, Mary Muteyerwa, Qiniso Sibanda, Ephraim Tapa, Kevin Wheeldon and Ntombizodwa Zololo. Thanks to Daizy, Esther and Margaret for looking after the front table, to Kevin , Rangirai and Jacob for handing out flyers, to Mary and Chido for drumming, to Jonathan and Chido for taking photos and to Rosemary Maponga for providing hot drinks. Thanks also to those who made posters for the Itai Dzamara protest: Garikai, Daizy, Washington Mugari and Tapiwa Muskwe.
• For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimb88abwevigil/. Please note: Vigil photos can only be downloaded from our Flickr website.

FOR THE RECORD: 26 signed the register.

EVENTS AND NOTICES:

• Living on the Edge. Tuesday 10^th March from 7 – 9 pm (doors open at 6 pm). Venue: Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AR. The event is organised by the Mike Campbell Foundation. Among the speakers are Chief Felix Ndiweni and Beatrice Mtetwa. For full details of the event check: https://media.wix.com/ugd/02876c_5b68a136280c42ebbf39f8ebbb722299.pdf.
• The Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR) is the Vigil’s partner organization based in Zimbabwe. ROHR grew out of the need for the Vigil to have an organization on the ground in Zimbabwe which reflected the Vigil’s mission statement in a practical way. ROHR in the UK actively fundraises through membership subscriptions, events, sales etc to support the activities of ROHR in Zimbabwe. Please note that the official website of ROHR Zimbabwe is http://www.rohrzimbabwe.org/. Any other website claiming to be the official website of ROHR in no way represents us.
• The Vigil’s book ‘Zimbabwe Emergency’ is based on our weekly diaries. It records how events in Zimbabwe have unfolded as seen by the diaspora in the UK. It chronicles the economic disintegration, violence, growing oppression and political manoeuvring – and the tragic human cost involved. It is available at the Vigil. All proceeds go to the Vigil and our sister organisation the Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe’s work in Zimbabwe. The book is also available from Amazon.
• Facebook pages:
  Vigil: https://www.facebook.com/zimbabwevigil
  ROHR: https://www.facebook.com/Restoration-of-Human-Rights-ROHR-Zimbabwe-International-370825706588551/
  ZAF: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zimbabwe-Action-Forum-ZAF/490257051027515

Post published in: Featured

Post published in: Business

According to 2019 Biglaw data collected by ALM, after two straight years of revenue declines, what Biglaw firm saw a 10.7 percent increase in revenue and a 6.8 percent growth in revenue per lawyer?

Hint: However, profitability (profits per equity partner) slipped again this year. But the firm’s managing partner characterized the firm’s financial performance as “very strong,” and a “validation” of the firm’s strategy.

See the answer on the next page.

“I’m going to keep on running because a winner don’t quit on themselves.” — Beyoncé

The top issue for Super Tuesday voters this week in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and North Carolina was healthcare. In the legal profession specifically, and in our society generally, we don’t talk about our health issues enough, especially mental health. Yet it remains top of mind for so many of us.

When it comes to healthcare, we are simply failing women of color, particularly black women. And it is fatal. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to catch up with Nickeyea (Nicky) Wilkinson and Ashlee Wisdom. Wilkinson is assistant counsel for a North Carolina health insurer and a Hampton University and North Carolina Central University (NCCU) School of Law alum. Wisdom is Director for Junto Health, Founder of Health In Her HUE, and a Howard University and New York University (NYU) alum. Both are attempting to move the needle when it comes to reducing racial health disparities.

In his book, Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen, Dan Heath highlights the power of swimming upstream to solve problems. By focusing on practical solutions for preventing problems rather than simply reacting to them, Heath provides several examples in our broken healthcare system that can be directly addressed through his “upstream” mental model. Heath also hits upon psychologist and children development expert Richard Trembley’s social determinants of health research regarding criminology. Heath, citing Trembley’s research, argues that the best time to prevent chronic aggressive behavior and teenage crime is when the criminal is in the mother’s tummy. By reducing a cluster of risk factors involving the mother — “maternal poverty, smoking, malnutrition, anger, depression, poor marital relations, low education, and having the baby as a teenager” — we can reduce crime in our society. As Heath states, “we’ll never run out of room upstream.”

Heath compares our “upstream” and “downstream” healthcare spending with other countries and concludes America (compared to other countries’ spending as a percentage of GDP) doesn’t necessarily overspend on healthcare, rather we don’t invest enough in social care (upstream) and spend too much on healthcare (downstream). In fact, when you combine social-care and healthcare spending, our country’s budget, or pot of money dedicated to society’s health and illness, is rather unremarkable. But this distinction in budget allocation, underinvestment in the upstream and overspending in the downstream, compared to other developed countries leaves us with higher costs and worse health outcomes than our peer nations.

It’s no coincidence that Wilkinson and Wisdom are swimming upstream to reduce racial health disparities by providing forums for community, conversation, and education.

Last year, Wilkinson had a myomectomy, which has helped her to discover her life’s purpose. In 2018, Wisdom founded Health In Her HUE as an inviting space for black women to be informed and to also share their expertise and experiences with other black women. This year, they are both executing their visions and amassing gallons of sweat equity in their respective labors of love. Throughout my numerous conversations with each of them, I continue to be in awe of their grit and determination. And I believe you will be inspired by their passions and missions as well. Without further ado, here is a (lightly edited and condensed) write-up of our conversations:

Renwei Chung (Renwei): Can you share a bit about your background and what attracted you two to your current healthcare roles?

Nickeyea Wilkinson (Nicky): Prior to my current in-house counsel role with a North Carolina health insurer, I worked for a tech company that provided Interactive Response Technology (IRT) and Randomization and Trial Supply Management (RTSM) solutions for clinical trials.

The exposure to two different stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem has given me a bird’s-eye view on critical issues impacting the healthcare industry, as well as the methods these stakeholders use in order to address these issues.

Ashlee Wisdom (Ashlee): I was a pre-med student in undergrad because I initially wanted to become a child psychiatrist. After a few internships, and struggling through organic chemistry, I realized I was passionate about healthcare but had no desire to be a clinician.

When I volunteered for an organization Peer Health Exchange during my senior year, the interview and training process was my first exposure to another side of healthcare — public health. My first job after undergrad was working as a grant writer for a federally qualified health center (FQHC), where I learned how inequitable our healthcare system is, and why safety nets like FQHCs even existed.

That job helped me realize I could channel my passion for social justice and equity into a meaningful career in healthcare.

Renwei: What do you hate most about the status quo in healthcare?

Nicky: The cost and access to healthcare (including resources and information) for many people with lower socioeconomic status or who have been historically underserved are still huge issues within our healthcare system, and are two of the things I hate most.

While I appreciate the valiant efforts of many stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem, there is still so much more work to be done to address the costs and access to healthcare. There needs to be an advancement of health equity, particularly as it relates to minorities and women. 

Ashlee: I hate that too often people are afraid to make others uncomfortable with hard truths that need to be said and addressed if we really want to create a more equitable healthcare system.

The shift to a more consumer-focused healthcare industry excites me because it’s forcing many of these legacy healthcare institutions to have a moment of reckoning, which is long overdue.

Renwei: You suffered a bit of a health scare last year Nicky — can you tell us more about this?

Nicky: Over the span of several months, I had severe pain in my lower abdomen. While the pain was not persistent, I had to go to the emergency room a handful of times for treatment. On the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, I woke up in excruciating pain. Again, I rushed to the emergency room. However, this time I was finally given a diagnosis.

I was diagnosed with having an ovarian cyst that had caused my ovary to become twisted. I was told that I needed emergency surgery to save my ovary. Also, I had an abdominal myomectomy to remove a large fibroid. A few months before the surgery, I learned that I had a large and growing fibroid. I explored various treatment options, but some options were not viable for several reasons, including possible infertility. As fate would have it, my episodic emergency quickened my decision to have a myomectomy.

Renwei: How did this experience with fibroids change your perspective on the current state of healthcare?

Nicky: This experience made me thankful for having access to healthcare and health insurance. It also caused me to reflect on individuals (especially minorities and women) who may not have the same level of access to care that I have. I can’t imagine how crippling my medical expenses would be without adequate health insurance coverage or the financial means to cover them.

Unfortunately, what I can’t imagine, is a reality for someone who looks like me, is in the “places” I frequent, or that I call a friend. I am hopeful that while we are in the age of technology and innovation, we see changes to the healthcare landscape for those individuals who often fall through the cracks.

Renwei: Ashlee, how did your education at Howard University and then at New York University (NYU) inform your current perspectives?

Ashlee: At Howard, I learned a lot about my history and also the importance of being socially and politically conscious as well as community-oriented. NYU equipped me with the knowledge of how structural racism impacts healthcare and gave me a strong grasp on how to analyze the policies and economics of healthcare.

Renwei: Congrats on your speaking engagement this weekend — “How Healthcare’s Failures Fuel Innovation.” How did you choose to focus on this topic for your TEDxWakefield talk on March 7?

Ashlee: I will be talking about how the failures of our healthcare system fuel innovation and the importance of diversity and inclusion in healthcare innovation and investing. I chose these topics because the theme for this TEDx event is “Failing Forward …”

I want to use the opportunity to highlight the work of people of color who’ve founded healthcare companies in response to a pain point they experienced navigating the healthcare system. And then I want to make a CTA to the healthcare ecosystem to include people from historically disadvantaged groups in their innovation process and fund our companies.

Renwei: How would you describe your several years of experience working in community health and academic medical centers?

Ashlee: I would describe them as eye-opening and foundational. Working at an FQHC gave me a deeper understanding of how social inequities impact health outcomes. Then, when I went on to work for an academic medical center, my eyes were opened to the world of world-class research, how it works, and its implications for healthcare delivery.

However, I also observed how these elite spaces play a role in perpetuating the disparities that exist in healthcare. I learned the details of how research is funded and conducted, and I also got an inside peek into the politics behind advancing as a faculty member within an AMC. During that time, there was also a bit of a foreshadowing of my experience working in healthcare innovation and venture.

I soaked in all my experiences and didn’t really know exactly how they would culminate into a career per se, but I knew I was going to take these experiences and insights and apply them to every and any new opportunity as my career in healthcare progressed.

Renwei: You created a wonderful video that you just posted on Instagram about your recent experience with fibroids. Can you share with us what motivated you to create this video?

Nicky: Silently, I endured many years of physical and mental anguish because of fibroids. Realizing that there is a need for support motivated me to create this video, along with several others.

These videos are small “snippets” of a larger documentary on the “black women’s experience” with fibroids [see here, here, and here] that I want to create. I hope that the videos will encourage women to open up about their own health issues, spark conversations, and garner support from leaders representing both the private and public sectors of healthcare, technology, and academia.

I hope to share my story and connect with other women who may share similar experiences and/or conditions. It is now my mission to spread awareness about women health issues, particularly issues impacting women’s reproductive health, as well as voice my concerns about the lack of information, research, and support, especially as it relates to fibroids.

Fibroids have been donned the “black women’s disease” because of how disproportionately fibroids affect black women. I often feel that there is an angle or narrative echoed when we are discussing health issues that greatly impact minorities. And, too often, such discussion does not reflect the minority’s perspective. I want to change the narrative and create opportunities for open and honest discussion.  My voice is a result of my own silence. While it is my “right to remain silent” and keep personal health experiences confidential, doing so does nothing for the greater good.

Renwei: Ashlee, what prompted you to found Health In Her HUE in August 2018? And what are some specific initiatives you are excited about for the rest of 2020?

Ashlee: I founded Health In Her HUE when I was pursuing my MPH at NYU, and while working full time for an academic medical center. At that time, I was working in a department that was extremely toxic for me as a black woman. While experiencing that, I was also reading academic articles for my classes and was saddened and enraged by the racial health disparities.

The outcomes for black women were abysmal, and not because black women are inherently more unhealthy, but because of structural racism. I was deeply disturbed and felt like I had to do something to make black women more aware of how much our social context impacts our health.

But I didn’t want to just stop there, I also wanted to equip them with information and tools that they could use to better care for themselves, and also navigate a healthcare system that’s often unsafe for them.

Health In Her HUE’s effort to equip black women to be empowered consumers of healthcare includes making it easier for them to connect with providers who look like them and whom they’re more likely to trust. We’re using technology to make those connections easier for black women to do. So I’m really excited about our beta launch and the opportunity to validate the demand for a platform and space like Health In Her HUE.

Within the first two weeks of launching, we’ve had almost 200 black women and providers create profiles on the platform. I am also extremely excited about hosting our first event series and a summit later this year. I really want to create an inviting space for black women to be informed and to also share their expertise and experiences with other black women.

Renwei: You mentioned you believe things happen for a reason, can you expound on this?

Nicky: I believe that our life purpose(s) is married to our desires and experiences. Beyond having a flourishing legal career, I desire to be a wife and a mom. The fact that I am dealing with issues that can impact my fertility, is a threat to my desires.

However, I am an incredibly optimistic person and a woman of faith. I will use my experiences with fibroids and ovarian cysts as a testimony and an encouragement tool. I do believe that sharing my story and advocating for other women, is one of my life’s purposes. Everything does happen for a reason! 

Renwei: It was great chatting with you. Is there anything else you would like to share with our audience?

Nicky: Yes, please seek out opportunities to advocate for your health. Share your individual story. You never know who your story is giving a voice to!

Ashlee: Health In Her HUE is looking for advisors — if there’s anyone who connects with our mission and what we’re trying to build, please reach out to me at ashleewisdom@healthinherhue.com or on Twitter @AshleeWisdom. If you’re interested in checking out our Beta, you can here.

There are also several ways to keep in touch with Health In Her HUE’s progress: Join us on Instagram @HealthInHerHUE, Twitter @HealthInHerHUE, Facebook @HealthInHerHUE, LinkedIn @HealthInHerHUE

On behalf of everyone here at Above the Law, I would like to thank Nickeyea Wilkinson and Ashlee Wisdom for taking the time to share their stories with our audience. We look forward to following their successes and wish them health, wealth, and happiness in their respective careers.

---

Renwei Chung is the Diversity Columnist at Above the Law. You can contact Renwei by email at projectrenwei@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter (@renweichung), or connect with him on LinkedIn. 

A couple of years ago, a Reuters investigation uncovered another revamp of immigration policies under President Trump. ICE has a Risk Classification Assessment Tool that decides whether or not arrested immigrants can be released on bail or their own recognizance. The algorithm had apparently undergone a radical transformation under the new administration, drastically decreasing the number of detainees who could be granted release. The software now recommends detention in almost every case, no matter what mitigating factors are fed to the assessment tool.

ICE is now being sued for running software that declares nearly 100% of detained immigrants too risky to be released pending hearings. The ACLU’s lawsuit [PDF] opens with some disturbing stats that show how ICE has rigged the system to keep as many people detained as possible.

According to data obtained by the New York Civil Liberties Union under the Freedom of Information Act, from 2013 to June 2017, approximately 47% of those deemed to be low risk by the government were granted release. From June 2017 to September 2019, that figure plummeted to 3%. This dramatic drop in the release rate comes at a time when exponentially more people are being arrested in the New York City area and immigration officials have expanded arrests of those not convicted of criminal offenses. The federal government’s sweeping detention dragnet means that people who pose no flight or safety risk are being jailed as a matter of course—in an unlawful trend that is getting worse.

Despite there being plenty of evidence that immigrants commit fewer criminal acts than natural-born citizens, the administration adopted a “No-Release Policy.” That led directly to ICE tinkering with its software — one that was supposed to assess risk factors when making detention determinations. ICE may as well just skip this step in the process since it’s only going to give ICE (and the administration) the answer it wants: detention without bond. ICE agents can ask for a second opinion on detention from a supervisor, but the documents obtained by the ACLU show supervisors depart from detention recommendations less than 1% of the time.

The negative effects of this indefinite detention are real. The lawsuit points out zero-risk detainees can see their lives destroyed before they’re allowed anything that resembles due process.

Once denied release under the new policy, people remain unnecessarily incarcerated in local jails for weeks or even months before they have a meaningful opportunity to seek release in a hearing before an Immigration Judge. While waiting for those hearings, those detained suffer under harsh conditions of confinement akin to criminal incarceration. While incarcerated, they are separated from families, friends, and communities, and they risk losing their children, their jobs, and their homes. Because of inadequate medical care and conditions in the jails, unmet medical and mental-health needs often lead to serious and at times irreversible consequences.

When they do finally get to see a judge, nearly 40% of them are released on bond. ICE treats nearly 100% of detained immigrants as dangerous. Judges — judges employed by the DOJ and appointed by the Attorney General — clearly don’t agree with the agency’s rigged assessment system.

There will always be those who say, “Well, don’t break the law.” These aren’t criminal proceedings. These are civil proceedings where the detained are tossed into criminal facilities until they’re able to see a judge. This steady stripping of options began under the Obama administration but accelerated under Trump and his no-release policy.

ICE began to alter its custody determinations process in 2015, modifying its risk-assessment tool so that it could no longer recommend individuals be given the opportunity for release on bond. In mid-2017, ICE then removed the tool’s ability to recommend release on recognizance. As a result, the assessment tool—on which ICE offices across the country rely— can only make one substantive recommendation: detention without bond.

The ACLU is hoping to have a class action lawsuit certified that would allow it to hold ICE responsible for violating rights en masse, including the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause. Since ICE is no longer pretending to be targeting the “worst of the worst,” the agency and its deliberately-broken risk assessment tool are locking up immigrants who have lived here for an average of sixteen years — people who’ve added to their communities, held down jobs, and raised families. These are the people targeted by ICE and it is ensuring that it is these people who are thrown into prisons and jails until their hearings, tearing apart their lives and families while denying them the rights extended to them by our Constitution.

(Check it out on the next page…)

ACLU Sues ICE Over Its Deliberately-Broken Immigrant ‘Risk Assessment’ Software

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