Aoki Center Files Amicus Brief in Access to Counsel Injunction

The Aoki Center joined the California Unity Bar Association in filing an amicus brief supporting the plaintiffs-appellees in Vasquez Perdomo v. Mullin. The June 17 brief argues, “The Trump administration has employed roving patrols relying on race in the name of immigration enforcement and detained people in inhumane conditions without access to counsel. The action violates the law, undermines our democracy, and must be enjoined.”

The two organizations point out that they “can aid the Court’s evaluation of this case by contributing their deep understanding of historical injustices that have occurred when governments have, throughout California’s and our nation's history, departed from and violated constitutional protections through wrongful detention, arrest, incarceration, and/or deportation of various targeted groups without due process of law.”

The brief draws parallels to American mass deportations in the 1950s and 1930s. It also details the requirements of the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause.

Through scholarly research on the intersection of race and law, the Aoki Center at UC Davis Law advances the fields of civil rights, critical race theory, and immigration issues.