Most recently, he has unilaterally enacted
a ban on travel to the United States from several Muslim-majority
countries--creating chaos in airports, separating families, and
tarnishing our Nation's image around the world. It is of great concern
to me that Senator Sessions has already stated his unwillingness, if
confirmed, to recuse himself from investigations into potentially
unlawful activities of the Trump campaign and Trump administration. Moreover, Senator Sessions and I disagree on how the law should treat
immigrants, refugees, the LGBTQ community, women, and racial
minorities, among others. These disagreements go to the heart of the
Justice Department's law enforcement and civil rights functions. For
instance, in 2013, Senator Sessions voted against a bipartisan effort
to reform our Nation's immigration laws. This effort garnered
overwhelming support from both sides of the aisle and would have done
much to address the immigration problems facing us today. He also voted
against the 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act,
which provides much-needed support to and protections for some of the
most vulnerable people in our communities--and is overseen by the
Justice Department that he hopes to administer. Additionally, his
statements and votes in opposition to reaffirming the prohibition on
torture run counter to our values and basic precepts of international
law.
Keywords matched
immigration immigrants refugees