Immigration lawyer says he won't comply with subpoena for source of leaked ICE memo
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A Centennial, Colorado, lawyer who revealed a leaked internal memo on immigration policy says he won’t comply with a subpoena that asks for information about the source of the leak.
Immigration lawyer Daniel Kowalski told the Denver Post and the San Francisco Chronicle that he doesn’t intend to provide any information about how he obtained the memo.
Kowalski posted the memo in the LexisNexis publication he edits, Bender’s Immigration Bulletin.
The July 11 memo was written by the principal legal adviser for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It dealt with how to litigate asylum cases following Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ conclusion that immigrants generally are not eligible for asylum as a result of domestic and gang violence in their home countries.
The subpoena was sent by a special agent with ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility.
Kowalski told the San Francisco Chronicle that, if the government seeks to enforce the summons in federal court, he will resist it. He told the Denver Post he is a journalist protected by the First Amendment and Colorado’s shield law.
If the government pursues enforcement, “I’m sure a judge will toss it out in a heartbeat,” Kowalski told the Denver Post.
