Fortune 500 company abruptly fires lawyer who helped immigrant family

On March 4, Clay Jackson, an attorney in the Dallas area, was at a gas station near his home when the attendant asked if he would help a local immigrant family. The family's father, who is undocumented, had been targeted in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) workplace raid. His wife is also undocumented, but their youngest child is a U.S. citizen. Jackson agreed.

Later the same day, Jackson visited the family at their home. He is not an immigration lawyer, but advised the parents of their basic rights if they were detained by ICE. He also promised to help the family find an attorney specializing in immigration law to help them pro bono. The entire meeting lasted less than an hour.

On March 6, two plain-clothed officers came to Jackson's home and asked if his name was Clay Jackson. He said yes. Then, one of the officers said, "We have information that you are obstructing an ongoing immigration investigation." The men asked if they could come inside, and Jackson declined. The men refused to tell Jackson their names or provide badge numbers. Jackson shut the door.

All of these facts were first reported by journalist Radley Balko on April 23 in his newsletter The Watch. The same day Balko’s story was published, Jackson was fired from his job as Litigation Counsel at Fidelity National Financial (FNF), a large insurance company and a member of the Fortune 500. In 2024, the company brought in more than $13 billion in revenue selling title insurance, life insurance, annuities, and other financial products. Balko, by Jackson's request, did not mention FNF or the nature of Jackson's legal work in his report.