by Bunthay Cheam

Seattle University Law School students are calling on their school to cut ties with data companies Thomson Reuters and RELX PLC, the parent companies of legal research tools Westlaw and LexisNexis, respectively, because of their relationship with Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE).

On Oct. 4, 2021, the law students who are part of the national group, End the Contract Coalition (ECC), took part in a week of action that included a virtual panel facilitated by Mijente, a Latinx and Chicanx political activism group, and on campus direct action. Students unfurled a massive sign to inform students and faculty of their campaign and laid out sleeping bags covered in foil blankets inside the Law School building to represent people in custody at immigration holding facilities. 

In April, Seattle University Law School students Sam Sueoka and Peyton Jacobsen discovered the relationship between LexisNexis and ICE through an Intercept article.

According to the ECC website: “LexisNexis signed a $16.8 million contract with ICE, further consolidating the relationship between legal research companies and law enforcement agencies. The contract states that LexisNexis will provide Homeland Security investigators with access to billions of records containing personal data from an array of public and private sources, including credit history, bankruptcy records, license plate images, and cellular subscriber information. Both Thomson Reuters and RELX have a history of supplying ICE with person-specific data which allows the agency to conduct rapid searches for personal information.”