Tarek Ismail is Co-Director of the Family Law Practice Clinic, and associate professor of law at CUNY Law. He notes that his upbringing and history helped guide aspects of his path to the practice of law.
Tarek grew up attending a mosque called The Greater Islamic Center of Greater Toledo and reminisces about this community that served as a center for him.
“The mosque was a gathering place for my sisters, my cousins, and our friends. It was our community space.”
As a 16-year old Palestinian Muslim coming of age in an era defined by the events of September 11, 2001, Tarek notes there were several experiences and events in his community that influenced his journey towards the practice of law. He remembers his family losing friends and the expressed anxiety of younger kids in his community as they navigated the world post 9/11.
“Young kids were pointing up at the sprinklers in the ceiling and joking that the CIA was listening in on the prayer room.”
Shortly after 9/11, someone shot through the prayer area window of Tarek’s mosque from the highway. He recalls his feelings about the community response being extremely complex.
“All the faith communities in Toledo came out to link arms around the mosque, circling it several times. The media called it the ‘Circle of Love’. We felt very supported and buttressed but at the same time, we were forced to prove we were law-abiding Muslims who deserved support. There wasn’t really space for dissent, as the government beat the war drum, and rounded up thousands of Muslims, and threw them in detention.”
Years later in September of 2012, a man walked in to the prayer room with a gas canister, poured it all over the rug, and lit it on fire.
“Of course, he was able to do that because it’s an open space and anyone can walk in. We know the FBI sent in informants. I can walk in and pray or this random person can go in and light the place on fire.”
After these experiences, he became interested in how the law could be used to build roots and power in direct opposition to how the State disempowered communities and tore families apart.
CLEAR attorneys giving a Know Your Rights presentation. Tarek stands and speaks on the right.
Communities of all sizes, including families, are of the utmost importance to Tarek. He is on a mission to interrupt the ways states violently intervene to separate families – a mission deeply informed by his lived experience as a Palestinian whose family is still grappling with the consequences of their violent dispossession.
“A family reunion for us isn’t just a logistical nightmare — it’s a legal one. It’s nearly impossible to imagine a world where I can be in the same place as all of my aunts, uncles and cousins — and it’s actually impossible for all of us to meet in the place we come from.”
He notes that this separation is a way for the state to coercively prevent families from building roots and power together, and breaking free from the State’s grasp is at the top of mind for him as he helps families navigate these murky conditions.
“When a State — in particular — or a powerful private actor like a foster care agency or a technology company acts to further interests they think are important, be those interests the well-being of a child or the security of our country, the public defers a great deal to the State. This gives the State all sorts of authority to do things that would otherwise be unavailable to do in the name of said interest, and they often do that by railroading Black, Brown, and poor people.”
In direct opposition to the way the State separates families, Tarek seeks strength in the different communities where he finds himself — with family, friends and loved ones.
“I have a reputation as someone who loves to narrate Mafia games, but never actually plays. I just love watching everyone interact.”
Tarek (right) and Maria Marroquin ’19 (left) embrace their client, Abdikadir Mohamed (center).
Tarek fondly remembers his client Abdikadir (Abdi) Mohamed when reminiscing about reuniting families. Abdi was separated from his wife and baby daughters for nearly two years while in ICE detention. Tarek, Professor Talia Peleg, and students in the Immigrants and Non-Citizens Rights Clinic (INRC) and Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility Clinic (CLEAR) worked with community organizations to support Abdi in his fight to reunite his family.
“Being able to bear witness to those moments of reuniting families is a gift every single time. We built power with other folks to achieve that reunion.”
In addition to building community, marking the moment is important for Tarek.
“It’s important to take a step back and celebrate because the wins are few and far between. At Brooklyn Defender Services, I would send office-wide haikus that marked the moment. This was a way of showing that the event deserved attention, celebration, and recognition.”
Given that the wins are so few in comparison to the challenges and losses, legal minds engaged in this work must find ways of restoring energy. The pandemic has made this more difficult, but not impossible.
“The pandemic has affected how I take care of myself. I love cooking and learning new recipes from my grandmother. Whenever I call their house, my grandfather always teases me, asking me what I made today. When it was possible, I loved bringing people together to cook for them.”
Tarek talks about the ways in which the CUNY Law community has become a family for him — staff, faculty, students, and alumni. He has been at CUNY for four years, first as a Staff Attorney with CLEAR, and officially joined CUNY Law’s faculty last fall. He enjoys both the mentorship of seasoned faculty members and the transparency of solution-oriented faculty members with whom he shares purpose.
CUNY Law representing strong at the Gaza 5K in March 2020.
“If you look at the staff and faculty that have been hired over the last several years, it’s been a thoughtful exercise. We have strong mentorship from people who have been here for a long time. It’s a feat, and a real credit to the school that they are willing to bring on people who don’t pull punches. They’ve practiced in the areas about which they teach and have thought across different issues areas. They don’t see their work as siloed and think very intentionally about how to engage with their students. The foundation of the school is strong and responsive enough to generate solutions to its own problems.”
Tarek affirms that these types of issues are not academic, and that faculty often has personal stake in said issues.
“You’ll see in the letter that Faculty of Color put together over the summer, a number of the requests we make ask that the school account for the decisions they’ve made over the last few years. We’re trying to make sure that people of color – and specifically women of color- don’t bear the burden when doing unseen work in their various capacities across the school. I’m humbled to work with such thoughtful colleagues who make a sincere effort to live the things they teach.”
Students and Tarek in CLEAR protesting the repression of Muslim communities.
Tarek wants the school to continue to be thoughtful about involving the voices of the most affected members of the community in responding to issues that affect them directly.
In a similar vein, he advises people to center their clients as experts when creating legal strategy.
“Your clients are the experts in your cases. They have intimate knowledge of the things they went through, and have a sense for what is possible given their lived experience vantage. You can’t learn through simulations what clients can tell you about their own lives. Heed their expertise and needs, along with community needs, as the driving force of your work. Give them a voice in your conversation. Rock with your clients and work on your active listening skills.”
For folks deciding on whether or not they should attend law school, Tarek advises burgeoning legal minds to question first if law school is the path by which they can build the most capacity for power, and second, ask if harnessing the power of law and mobilizing around it is something they think they’d enjoy. If the answer is yes, but there is a sense of reticence born of how they grew up, Tarek offers astute guidance.
“There are lots of people along the way that will tell you that you don’t belong. There are forces of history that will back this claim. Remember that the experience you bring is an asset —not a liability. CUNY Law continually sets itself up to account for and provide access to people of all backgrounds.”
Tarek values the diversity and breadth of experience that CUNY Law students bring to classrooms and clinics alike. One of his driving missions is fostering an educational environment that surfaces and sharpens the skills of students while centering their experience as valuable and integral to the practice of law.
Students and attorneys in CLEAR at JFK airport review a strategy for handling new clients during the rollout of Muslim Ban in 2017
“It’s been amazing to see students’ growth and capacity to bring new ideas and experiences to the table. I’m impressed with our students and their ability to organize and synthesize unique perspectives into our work, especially in a clinical setting. I’m learning from them all the time! The competence acquired from lived experience is clear to clients. I’ve had partners of the Family Practice Law Clinic underline the importance of meaningful experience in the communities served. We have part-time students who arrive at CUNY Law bearing invaluable experience to share. Our students aren’t just university students doing their work in law school. They’re taking advantage of what it means to be in this place at this time organizing and building equity.”
As the CUNY Law community sets out to engage in the work needed to build equity across the legal landscape, centering affected voices, finding ways to replenish energy, and marking the moments remain keys to building roots and power together.
Check out Tarek’s latest op-ed in the Daily News, read more about the Family Law Practice Clinic, keep up with CLEAR, and follow Tarek on Twitter @tarekzismail