In a 52-47 vote down party lines – with the exception of Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) — the Senate Wednesday night finally confirmed four-term US Senator Jeff Sessions as the next attorney general. He’s expected to be sworn in Thursday.
Republicans have accused Democrats of repeatedly trying to derail Trump’s cabinet nominations. “It’s no secret that our Democrat colleagues don’t like the new president and are doing what they can to undermine the new administration,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary was quoted by the Washington Post.
Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) was quick to congratulate Sessions on hisconfirmation as the nation’s 83rd attorney general.
“FAIR congratulates Jeff Sessions on his confirmation as Attorney General of the United States. Sessions is unparalleled in his knowledge of the proper role of the Department of Justice, the legislative process, and the rule of law, all of which will be critical in restoring much-needed accountability and responsibility to the nation’s immigration policies,” Stein said in a statement.
“An able Senator and sincere advocate for fairness, Senator Sessions fully understands the dangers posed by the 300 jurisdictions around the nation that have adopted policies that impede federal immigration enforcement and protect criminal aliens. Under Sessions’s leadership, the Department of Justice will likely take action against jurisdictions that embrace dangerous policies that shockingly defy federal law,” Stein said, adding, “These policies have been directly responsible for periodic crimes committed against innocent citizens, whom our laws are meant to protect."
Continuing, Stein said, “The new attorney general will also have the ability to help the nation’s beleaguered immigration courts which are buckling under historic backlogs caused largely by the Obama administration’s catch and release policies. Today, nearly 500,000 cases are waiting to be heard, and many of those released will never show up for their hearings … Attorney General Sessions will ensure that the public interest is of paramount concern as he oversees the restoration and proper application of the rule of law to immigration policy. The days of turning a blind eye to illegal immigration, pushing for the adoption of mass amnesty policies, and allowing tens of thousands of criminal aliens to dodge deportation are over.”
Pro-immigration Latino Victory Project President Cristóbal J. Alex, responded saying, “Republicans were desperate to jam through Donald Trump’s extremist, rubber stamp pick to be attorney general. Since being rejected by the Republicans in the Senate Judiciary Committee in the eighties, Sessions has doubled-down on his advocacy for legislation that disproportionately targets communities of color, infringing on our most fundamental rights like access to the ballot box. Separating Sessions’ rhetoric from his record is nothing more than a malicious fantasy Republicans continue to push."
“Senate Republicans need to know that by confirming Jeff Sessions as the next Attorney General of the United States, they are putting our civil rights in danger and making America unsafe for communities of color," Alex said, adding, "Jeff Sessions supports mass deportation, a Muslim registry, and he would roll back progress on LGBTQ and voting rights. As we’ve seen throughout his career, his anti-immigrant and racist convictions will continue to guide his judgment and make him unable to protect all Americans equally. We have no reason to believe that he will serve as an independent attorney general. He is simply not fit to serve."
Alex said the “Latino Victory will persist every step of the way to ensure that our communities’ voices are not oppressed. We will not be silenced, and we will push back against injustice whenever and wherever we encounter it."
