Law Students Against ICE is a left-of-center corporate pressure campaign that was formed as part of the larger No Tech for ICE campaign, which itself is a project of left-of-center immigration group Mijente. The Law Students Against ICE campaign’s focus is to join similar campaigns to put pressure on Thomson Reuters and RELX/LexisNexis to cease their data services contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Law Students Against ICE’s specific activities include protesting against law schools using legal databases WestLaw (owned by parent company Thomson Reuters) and LexisNexis (owned by parent company RELX). ^{1 2 3}

In addition to its ties to No Tech For ICE and Mijente, the group has worked with the Immigrant Defense Project (IDP) and Researchers Against Surveillance. The campaign is also closely associated with the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) while claiming local NLG student chapters provide the “backbone” of support for the project. ^{4 2}

Background

Law Students for ICE was formed as part of the No Tech for ICE campaign, a project of left-of-center activist group Mijente, which works predominantly within Hispanic communities to advocate left-of-center economic and immigration policy. The campaign claims that it opposes law schools using legal databases WestLaw (owned by parent company Thomson Reuters) and LexisNexis (owned by parent company RELX), claiming their parent companies have engaged in the United States’ “violently racist immigration system.” ⁵

Activity

Law Students Against ICE joined the No Tech For ICE campaign’s petition operated by Mijente along with the Immigration Defense Project, and Researchers Against Surveillance. The petition claims to be led by legal academics, librarians, attorneys, and students who are “concerned” about alleged “human rights abuses” conducted by ICE with the aid of technological services provided by Thomson Reuters (parent company to Westlaw) and RELX plc (parent company to LexisNexis). It further claims those companies are involved with, “fueling the surveillance, imprisonment, and deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants each year.” ³

In response, a group of law student activists, the End the Contract Coalition, promoted similar demands against WestLaw and LexisNexis as Law Students Against ICE and the Mijente petition. ⁶

National Lawyers Guild

The Law Students for ICE, while not appearing to be a formal organization or project, is closely aligned with the National Lawyers Guild, an association of law students, attorneys, and others in the legal profession. One student from the NLG Harvard chapter wrote an article on the NLG blog about the Law Students Against ICE campaign, claiming that, “NLG student chapters make up the base of the Law Students Against ICE backbone, and NLG student support has been a big part of what has allowed us to expand so rapidly.” ²

1. “Home.” Law Students Against ICE.” Accessed July 12, 2024. https://nocontractsforice.org/
2. Nathanson, Anna. “Law Students Against ICE Takes on Westlaw & LexisNexis Data Contracts.” Guild Notes, National Lawyers Guild. Accessed July 12, 2024. https://www.nlg.org/guild-notes/article/law-students-against-ice-takes-on-westlaw-lexisnexis-data-contracts/
3. “Law Letter.” No Tech for ICE. Accessed July 12, 2024. https://notechforice.com/lawletter/
4.   “Law Letter.” No Tech for ICE. Accessed July 12, 2024. https://notechforice.com/lawletter/
5.  “About Us.” Law Students Against ICE.” Accessed July 12, 2024. https://nocontractsforice.org/about-us/
6. “About.” End the Contract Coalition. Accessed July 12, 2024. https://endthecontract.wixsite.com/home/about