A former Justice Department lawyer who spoke out publicly about the Trump administration’s aggressive maneuvers to deport migrants has joined one of the legal advocacy firms challenging the administration’s approaches to immigration, benefits for the poor and civil rights.
In an interview with The New York Times, Erez Reuveni said he decided to work for the group Democracy Forward because “this is really a make-or-break moment for the rule of law, for democracy, for the rights of all people who live in this country.”
Mr. Reuveni, who worked for almost 15 years as a government lawyer, during which he often defended the Trump administration’s immigration policies, was fired earlier this year in a standoff with his own bosses about what he said were efforts to mislead or ignore federal judges.
Administration officials have said he refused to follow orders and have denied Mr. Reuveni’s claims, which were buttressed in part by a series of emails and text messages shared among government lawyers surrounding the rushed removals in March of more than 200 migrants to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador.
Mr. Reuveni filed a whistle-blower complaint to Congress and government agencies, saying a senior official, Emil Bove III, suggested the department should be prepared to ignore court orders to ensure the planes of migrants were shipped away.
In testimony before Congress, Mr. Bove denied the thrust of Mr. Reuveni’s allegations, though when pressed on particulars, he said he could not recall specific language that was used.
Mr. Reuveni has also said he was told by his superiors to sign an appeal brief arguing that a migrant who had been mistakenly deported to El Salvador was a terrorist, despite a lack of evidence for such an accusation.
Mr. Reuveni has said he refused, telling a supervisor, “I didn’t sign up to lie.” He was placed on administrative leave and eventually fired.
Last week, a federal judge signaled his intent to call Mr. Reuveni as a witness in a contempt proceeding against the administration.
Mr. Reuveni said he decided to work for Democracy Forward because “all people have a right to safety, liberty, due process, and to me personally, it’s very important to fight the fight that articulates that point of view.”
The group’s president and C.E.O., Skye Perryman, said she hired Mr. Reuveni because he has “seen the anti-immigrant autocratic playbook up close,” and will be part of a team of lawyers, including others who once worked in the government, who are “very well positioned to figure out the best ways to confront it.”
Ms. Perryman praised Mr. Reuveni as a person of integrity who “ultimately lost his job as a result of his commitment to the ethics requirements of the legal profession.”
Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, has called Mr. Reuveni “a disgruntled former employee.”
His whistle-blower complaint was sent to Congress shortly before a confirmation hearing for Mr. Bove to become a federal appeals court judge. While Democrats reacted to his account with alarm and indignation, Republicans accused him of participating in a smear campaign aimed at derailing that nomination.
Senate Republicans ultimately confirmed Mr. Bove to the bench.
Devlin Barrett covers the Justice Department and the F.B.I. for The Times.
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