Many of us questioned whether Attorney General Sessions was the right
person to be the chief law enforcement officer of the United States of
America at this moment in history. Unfortunately, many of the actions
of the new Attorney General, since he was confirmed, have not erased
these concerns. The Attorney General has already begun making dramatic
changes at the Justice Department, including on critical issues like
criminal justice, civil rights, immigration, and funding for crime
prevention. Just last week, Attorney General Sessions disparaged a Federal judge
from Hawaii who issued an order blocking the Trump administration's
Muslim travel ban. Attorney General Sessions said: ``I really am amazed that a judge
sitting on an island in the Pacific can issue an order that stops the
President of the United States from what appears to be clearly his
statutory and constitutional power.''
Senator Mazie Hirono, my colleague on the Senate Judiciary Committee
and the junior Senator from Hawaii, pointed out that Hawaii was granted
statehood in 1959 and called the Attorney General's comments
``insulting and prejudiced.''
Also, last week, Attorney General Sessions called into question the
status of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, also
known as DACA. When asked about DACA, Attorney General Sessions said:
``We can't promise people who are here unlawfully that they're not
going to be deported.''
That is exactly what DACA is. It is a commitment to young people who
were brought to the United States as children and grew up in our
country that they will be protected from deportation on a temporary
renewable basis. Attorney General Sessions' statement is contrary to
his own administration's policy as established by President Trump and
Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, who have primary responsibility
for immigration enforcement. The last confirmed nominee for Deputy Attorney General was Sally
Yates, a veteran prosecutor and U.S. attorney from Georgia. Ms.
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