Talk At University Of Illinois College Of Law Sparks Protest

The University of Illinois College of Law Dean says people who protested the visit of the U.S. Deputy Solicitor General protested the wrong person.

Deputy Solicitor General Malcolm Stewart spoke to law students on the Urbana campus Wednesday afternoon about the intellectual property and bankruptcy cases he’s argued in front of the United States Supreme Court.

Members of C-U Immigration Forum, Sanctuary of the People and the Graduate Employees Organization protested the appearance by Stewart, who they say has argued for many of the Trump administration’s immigration policies in court.

Stewart argued before the Supreme Court on behalf of the administration in October of 2017 in a case that dealt with prolonged detention of immigrants facing deportation. It was a case that was first argued before the high court during the Obama administration, and the government's position has not changed.

Law school dean Vikram Amar says Stewart is a civil servant, not a Trump appointee. "I don’t think there’s anything about him or his work that would provoke a protest," he said.

Amar added that Stewart has been Deputy Solicitor General since 1993, serving under Presidents Clinton, Bush, Obama and Trump. He says civil servants work for the government no matter who is the President.

Note: An earlier version of this story stated that Stewart did not argue immigration cases. It has been corrected to note his work on Jennings v. Rodriguez in October 2017.