Nomination of Jeff Sessions Threatens Civil Rights
January 5, 2017Proposed nominee for U.S. attorney general has 30-year record of racial insensitivity, bias against immigrants, and disregard for civil rights.
On November 18th, President-elect Donald Trump selected Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) as his nominee to become the attorney general of the United States. A key responsibility of the attorney general is to oversee the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division — enforcing our nation’s civil rights laws and upholding the U.S. Constitution.
The attorney general also plays a significant role in immigration enforcement and adjudication, including setting policy, through the oversight of the immigration court system and the appointment of immigration judges.
Senator Sessions has opposed civil rights legislation and led anti-immigrant efforts throughout his Senate career. His record of disenfranchising and denying the rights of people of color, immigrants, and Muslim communities, as well as his overtly racist statements made during his career as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, make him unfit for the position of attorney general of the United States.