South Carolina legal community unites against federal deportation tactics in open letter

(WCIV) — Over 230 South Carolina lawyers and former judges are working to raise awareness and speak out against the Federal Government’s ongoing deportation efforts.

In an open letter dated April 24, 2025, the lawyers argue that the removal of people from the U.S. to a foreign prison without a chance to contest the action in court is a “threat to the country’s most basic freedoms.”

Additionally they say that executive orders retaliating against law firms for representing clients disfavored by the government, are designed to undermine the integrity of the legal system.

Some of the signers of the open letter include SC Supreme Court Justice John H. Waller, Jr. and retired SC circuit judges Gary E. Clary, Brooks P. Goldsmith, Reginald Lloyd and Charles W. Whetstone, Jr.

“We reject the proposition that our government can defy the courts and refuse to correct its errors by citing the extraterritorial status of the person unlawfully removed[,]” the letter argues. “If the government’s actions stand, it is only a matter of time before it uses rendition tactics to remove U.S. citizens to a foreign prison.”

According to a press release, the expressly stated goal of the letter is to remind South Carolina lawyers of their oaths to defend the Constitution and to educate the public about what they describe as an ongoing threat to the rule of law.

Over 55 of the letter signers are from in the Lowcountry.

The full letter and a list of its signers can be found here.