Public Profiles: U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-GA)

In this series, I will examine prominent and influential members of the public and their impact on immigration reform. First up is United States Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III of Alabama.

U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama.

Jeff Sessions was born in 1946 in Selma, Alabama to American parents of English ancestry. As long and well settled Americans, the Sessions were far removed from their immigrant roots. It's unlikely that young Jeff Sessions knew too many immigrants growing up, given that he was brought up at the tail end of the era of racial segregation, which was especially pronounced in his native deep south state of Alabama.

Many years later, then U.S. Attorney Sessions, he was nominated by President Reagan to be judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama. His nomination ultimately failed when allegations of racist comments by Sessions came to light. He was alleged to have stated that civil rights organizations such as the NAACP and the ACLU were "un-American," "communist-inspired" and "forced civil rights down the throats of people."

U.S. Attorney Jeff Sessions.

It was alleged that Sessions had stated he thought the Ku Klux Klan was "OK until I found out they smoked pot." Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Figures, testified that Sessions had indicated reluctance to try civil rights cases and expressed wishes to decline them all.

When prodded, Sessions admitted to being "loose tongued" but that he "meant no harm by it." Consequently, he became only the second nominee to the federal judiciary in the preceding 48 years who was not confirmed by the Senate. Ironically, a decade later, Sessions was elected to the US Senate from Alabama.


Since the majority of modern day immigrants are not white, and Senator Sessions has a known history of racial prejudice against non-white minorities, it is not surprising that he has been the most anti-immigrant member of Congress. He has close ties with an umbrella of anti-immigration organizations, which include NumbersUSA, the Center for Immigration Studies and the Federation of Americans for Immigration Reform (by reform they mean elimination). These organizations contribute money to his campaign and routinely offer him absurdly named accolades to commemorate his anti-immigrant stances. One such title bestowed by NumbersUSA on Senator Sessions is "the No. 1 champion for the American workers on immigration issues." He is also the No. 1 reason for families breaking up all over America, but I doubt there is an award for that.

In 2007, the last time comprehensive immigration reform was attempted, he quickly became the leader of the effort to kill any chance of reform. He likened the reform bill, which was substantially similar to the 1986 and the current 2013 bill, to a "Terrorist Assistance and Facilitation Act of 2007." He lamented for the poor legal immigrant who suffers patiently under the weight of our broken system who would be unjustly linejumped by immigrants already here. Of course, on any other day Sessions couldn't summon any empathy for the legal immigrants, whom his cohorts at at NumbersUSA, CIS and FAIR want to restrict as well. But whats a few feigned sympathies between extremist exclusionists?

How many bills has Session put forth for the "people following the law" he cares so deeply about? Not one.

In 2010, Senator Sessions voted against the DREAM Act, a law that would give legal status to children who were involuntarily brought to the United States.

Senator Sessions vendetta against immigrants extends beyond the federal legislature. In 2011, his home state enacted HB 56, a law allowing racial profiling targeting Hispanics suspected of being undocumented. Following the passage of the law, more than 2000 children missed school due to being too terrified to attend. When asked, Senator Sessions implied they brought it upon themselves.

In 2013, he is again shaping up to be the leader of the effort against reform. On the very day the bill was introduced in the Senate, Senator Sessions held an alternate press conference with a coalition of anti-reform figures to galvanize opposition to the reform bill.

On April 17, Sessions' chief Counsel, Danielle Curtona sent categorically false information about reform bill to conservative activists, who then ran with it on talk radio to sour public opinion on the reform effort.

Later in the week, on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he is a member, Senator Sessions had called in the same openly anti-immigration figures that were present at his press conference as witnesses to testify before the committee about their opinions on the supposed adverse effects of immigration.

We're in for some very ugly sessions.

In the coming weeks, Senator Sessions will pull every trick he knows to prevent reform from becoming reality. He is expected to offer "poison pill" amendments (proposed changes to the law designed to make it unappealing to others). He is also expected to filibuster the bill on the floor of the Senate, and to cast it, once again, as a bill that terrorists will exploit. He will undoubtedly attend public and private meetings to sour public support for reform.

History of Amnesty in the United States

A common critique of giving the American underclass of 11 million some kind of legal relief is that it is tantamount to "amnesty." That's a dirty word in the right wing, and why shouldn't it be? It's not like forgiving people is something a Christian would do nor does it promote family values in this case. However, the linchpin of the exclusionist argument is that amnesty has been tried before and it didn't work. Let's examine this assertion in detail.

The very first amnesty happened not in 1986, but in 1776. Several dissatisfied British subjects openly fostered rebellion and overthrew the kings rule, a heinous crime of treason punishable by death. Instead of being hung for their insubordination, they started their own country, gave themselves amnesty and were declared national heroes. These dirty law breakers are honored with statues, their namesakes adorn our public buildings and their stories are enshrined with the deepest of respect in our history books. Amnesty was off to a great start!

18th century criminals who gave themselves the first American amnesty.

Almost a century later, the country would revisit this now thorny concept. The country was plagued with an epidemic of law breaking fugitive slaves who had run away from their rightful owners. What's worse, several "sanctuary" states harbored these fugitives, thereby themselves breaking the law. The resentment over the slavery question tore the country in two, with many of the southern states illegally seceding to form their own country. Needless to say, lawbreaking was in its prime in the mid 19th century. How did America solve this problem? One word. Amnesty.

The fugitive slaves were forgiven, so were their harborers. The seceding states were forgiven, and re-admitted into the Union with some tough preconditions (sound familiar?). In an act of unbridled, mass amnesty, the country was saved and reunited in a way that modern Americans hold in the deepest awe and respect. It's no surprise that the architect of this mass amnesty, President Abraham Lincoln, is considered the greatest President of all time. But were we done giving amnesty? Not quite.

Law breaking fugitive slaves such as these were later given amnesty.

In the mid 20th century, a lady by the name of Rosa Parks illegally refused to move to the back of the bus. What a dirty law breaker! Surely we couldn't forgive her or others like her could we!? The law clearly mandated the segregation of white and black Americans, and anyone who broke the law should have gotten no sympathy at all no matter how bad the law was! But, as history tell us, we yet again reformed the law and forgave the law breakers. And how does history judge this mass amnesty? Countless streets were renamed after the reformer Martin Luther King, and a public holiday declared in his honor. The status of this proponent of amnesty? You guessed it. National hero, like all the pro-amnesty heroes before him.

Rosa Parks being booked. She and others later got amnesty.

As today, there were many who opposed reform and decried it with colorful language. The only difference was they didn't use the word amnesty, since no immigrants were involved. The dirty word for reform exclusionists was "race mixing." Instead of shouting "stop illegal immigration," the 1950's ultra-conservative hardliner would yell "stop illegal integration."

Anti-reform exclusionists. They didn't want "amnesty" for minority races.

Stopping illegal integration one law breaking minority at a time.

This brings us to the alleged first amnesty, which is only just the fourth major amnesty with many mini amnesties in between that I didn't get into. In 1986, 3 million law breakers were allowed to get right with the law and become our equals. Many predicted the end of the United States as we know it, with law breakers running loose and terrorizing the public, mass lootings and chaos. What actually followed? Only the largest peacetime economic expansion in the history of the United States.

So when someone says amnesty has been tried before and failed, the question must be asked, which amnesty do they speak off? Or is it only amnesty when immigrants are involved, but for others, it is liberation for patriots, emancipation for slaves and integration for segregated minorities? This country has a long history of reforming unjust laws to bring masses of people to equality with their peers. It's high time for us to relive this American tradition and to welcome the 11 million as equals.

A demonstration for the law breakers of our time. Will they get their amnesty?

I'd like to end this piece by reminding everyone of our pledge of allegiance, that we recite under out beautiful flag. Read it, as many before us have, and apply it to the 11 million undocumented Americans. Here let me write it out for you:

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the 
Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, 
with liberty and justice for all.

That's right, liberty and justice for all. Not only for whites, not only for men, not only for straight, rich and documented. This is a country where everyone is entitled to liberty and justice.

The Bad Crazy of Internet Right-Wingers #1

The good stuff is down there, but if you want context I will provide that first. But seriously, good stuff down there.

A few days ago, Senator Marco Rubio, one of the principal architects of the Senate immigration reform bill, solicited the public's help in improving his bill. The public took him up on his offer and flooded his website with over 1000 comments. And they say immigration isn't an important issue to Americans? At any rate, despite admitting the large number of comments, Rubio's staff has only displayed 147 of the comments as of the time of this writing.

I scanned through them and was at first disappointed to not find my own politely worded, prodding of the legal language in the bill and suggestion for clarification. Instead of reasonable, moderate comments like mine, Senator Rubio's site prominently displays swaths and swaths of scathing, raving, misspelled, barely legible CAPS-LOCK-ENGAGED criticism from ultra-conservative hardliners. Let's just say there's enough crazy on there to out-crazy a C-PAC after-party.

My disappointment turned to glee when I began to realize why it was that Senator Rubio had selected only the most extreme responses. Some people theorize this is because he wants an out. The idea is, according to proponents of this theory, that if Rubio wants to bail on the whole immigration reform deal, he can point to an incensed public to justify backing away from his own bill.

That's nonsense. Rubio can not back away from his bill at this stage. Even if he backs away from the bill, the cat is out of the bag, and if he does get primaried, his political opponent will bring this bill up. It doesn't matter if Rubio drops or passes the bill, he will be clobbered with it by the extreme right till the day he dies, and even after that. The "damage" has already been done, now all Rubio can do is either hand himself a legislative accomplishment to go along with the hisses and jeers of the extreme right, or he can keep only their consternation with nothing to show for it. And Rubio is nobody's fool.

So why did he do it? I think he is attempting to cast the opponents of the bill as extremists that don't represent the party. The comments are rude, racist, and plain out unhelpful. They are also hilarious  which is why I will sample some of the best ones for my dear readers.

And now, to the main course!

Leonard Aquilino

04/17/2013 05:54 PM

I think you fell into the Amesity trap..Your bill doesn't show anything but Amesity...I WOULD HAVE VOTED FOR YOU IN 2016,but now you are pushing your version of Amesity to the American People...You better check your pants..I think you lost your balls somewhere..

I'm a movie buff myself but I don't think I've seen either Amesity or American People. What does this have to do with the bill?

Patrica Madison

04/17/2013 05:56 PM

People who were deported in the USA were serious bad people. They had to have six felonies to even see a depotation judge. NO raids. Obama no raids. Yet ..you will. let the millions deported...childrer molesters..polce killers..come back into the USA. they get to furnish their own proof. and cannot be challenged. Really. No racial profiling. So theUSA is a racist bigoted nation...then how die we get YOU? explain that! THIS BILL MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF PEOPLE FREE PHONES..FREE MINUTES....A STATE CONTROLLED ECONOMY SET UP INSIDE OF THE USA FOR THE IMMIGRANTS AND GUEST WORKERS...MAKING THE USA PAY WAR REPARATIONS TO MEXICO CHINA..AFRICA.......I AM SO ANGRY I CAN HARDLY TYPE AND EVERY TIME YOU GO TO THE WEBSITE.....ANOTHR HORROR IN THAT BILL. THIS IS THE DEATH OF THE USA. RUBIO HAS SUCCEDED IN DOING WHAT CASTRO COULD NOT..WHAT CHAVEZ COULD NOT AND THE CORRUPTION IN THE USA SENATE. LORD. THEY SHOULD ALL BE JAIL.

Patrica has connected all the dots. Rubio has outdone even Castro and Chavez by negotiating a reform deal. Now there is no escape for the American citizen from the state controlled economy specifically for the immigrants and the guest workers! Also something about China and Africa. At least she admits she is raging out of her mind.

john lallemano

04/17/2013 06:00 PM

What is it that you dont understand about the word "ILLEGAL'?? You can in fact deport all illegals back to mexico,canada,etc by bus,train,etc and stimulate the bus-train economy at the same time--and you can bill the illegals for the payment up front or stay incarcerated until they do---dont tell me that there are too many illegals or that there isnt room in the jails---there is plenty of room----

John should be a speech writer for 2016 Republican Presidential candidates. Can you imagine the Republican hopeful going up on stage and reading Johns comment verbatim. And you think Romney tanked with Hispanics.

ARNOLD G ALEXANDER, MD

04/17/2013 06:01 PM

NEVER reward bad behavior.
"Illegal" and "undocumented" represent BAD BEHAVIOR!!
1.) CLOSE THE BORDER!!!
2.) Prevent illegals from holding, getting jobs. e-varify etc
3.)When they have no jobs, they will leave on their own
4.) Hire some of the 20% unemployed USA Citizens in the category of workers that would leave to replace the illegals.
5.) Absolutely NO benefits to any illegal, other than a one-way ticket out.
SIMPLE!!

How many medical doctors do you know who can't spell "verify"? This is a very common ailment for ultra-conservatives, along with chronic idiopathic capitalization, an acute case of bad grammar, and severe deficiency of proper punctuation.

EDGARD MORALES SR.

04/17/2013 06:02 PM

NO AMNESTY, PERIOD !!!
WHAT PART OF THIS DO YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND? SECURE THE BORDERS FIRST, THEN SEND ALL ILLEGAL ALIENS BACK TO THEIR COUNTRY, THEN THEY ALL CAN APPLY AND MAKE A LINE AND WAIT THEIR TURN FOR A VISA. NOBODY IS ABOVE THE LAWS!!! THERE ARE ALREADY LAWS IN THE BOOKS AT FEDERAL AND STATES LEVEL; MAKE THEM ALL OBEY THE LAWS !!! TO INCLUDE THE PRESIDENT !!! WE AMERICANS ARE TIRED OF ALL OF YOU POLITICIANS NOT TAKING CARE OF AMERICA, AMERICANS AND "WE THE PEOPLE" FIRST !!! THE AMERICAN CITIZENS ARE STRUGLING AND HURTING ECONOMICALLY; AND YOU WANT TO GIVE AMNESTY TO MILLIONS OF ILLEGALS, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? I HAVE LOST ALL RESPECT FOR THE PRESIDENT AND THE CONGRESS. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE NOT BLIND!

I'm beginning to see a trend here. No amnesty? It's not quite clear enough, more capitalization would help solidify that conclusion.

Walker Jones

04/17/2013 06:05 PM

Senator look at the Amnesty
Bill passed and signed by
Ronald Regan. Started off
with 800,000 and turned into
3 million. There has been
no enforcement. Your bill
has the potential of being
ten times worse and no
enforcement will take place.
No Amnesty. Close the Borders. The enemy is within.

If it was starting to seem that the only thing anti-immigrant ultra-conservatives could bring to the table were uncultured diatribes, we are reminded that all hope is not lost with this gem of an extended haiku. My favorite part is the cryptic warning at the end.

Kenneth Humphrey

04/17/2013 06:10 PM

Without secure boarders there should be no bill!!The english required should be legit,as a former Federal employee many become citizens without a working knowledge of english.Do not extend special privlegess to their families!

Secure boarders? "english" (it hurts my eyes to see that "e" not capitalized) and "privilgess"? This man is on to something about a lack of "working knowledge of english."

Theodore Marcelak

04/17/2013 06:13 PM

It should be MANDATORY that should be able to speak ENGLISH before becoming a Citizen of the The UNITED STATES of AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's already the law, but let's not let that stop the impressive streak of exclamation marks Theodore has going.

And I'm not even half way through all of them.

To be continued...

Let me tell you why I am writing about immigration reform.

We are standing at the cusp of history. If passed, the immigration reform bill stands to bring 11 million living, breathing, men, women and children out of second class non-citizenship, closing the chapter on decades of fear, uncertainty and exploitation. If these people were a country, they'd be more populous than Greece (10.8m), Portugal (10.5m), Hungary (9.9m), Sweden (9.5m), Austria (8.4m), Switzerland (8m), Israel (8m), Denmark (5.6m), Finland (5.4m), Norway (5m) or Ireland (4.5m). The sheer magnitude of humanity that stands to be unshackled makes this an event no less dramatic than the impending liberation of an entire country.

If given legal status, these millions of people who could not previously drive, work or travel would have the opportunity to do so. They would neither fear reporting crimes against them nor fear seeking medical attention for their sick and dying. Many will be uplifted from grinding poverty and have the dignity to provide for themselves rather than having to live off a citizen friend or family member. The day this bill becomes law will be the most important day of their lives.

With this many lives in the balance and their personal stake so high, our society should be strained under the voice of their pleas, but it is not. Instead we hear ample condemnation of the 11 million. We hear them called parasites, invaders, secret jihadists, illegals, lawbreakers and slackers.

The attacks against the 11 million are not directed at individuals, they are directed at an entire class of people. 1 out of every 30 people in America is in this class. It's likely that every American knows many undocumented immigrants, even if they do not know specifically who they are.  These are the perils of hurling insults at ghostly apparitions. The "invader parasite" could be closer to you than you think.

Pick a random friend of yours, and pretend they violated some law (without hurting anyone) at some point in their lives, and if anyone ever found out they would lose their job, most of their rights and would have to be separated from their family. You do not need to pretend, because this is reality. Someone you know is unlawfully present in America and that's a statistical inevitability.

The sad reality is, few of the 11 million can tolerate the personal risk that comes along with "coming out" to defend their class against these characterizations. Those that do have their voices drowned out by their opponents  who relish savagely denigrating a class of people they know can not fight back. They know that the 11 million live closeted lives. All their lives they've lived with their heads down, mowed lawns, blown leaves, waited tables, watched children, cleaned houses, built walls brick by brick, knowing that they were only one unlucky encounter with ICE away from being put into removal proceedings.

In Arizona there was a time when any interaction with the police could see them deported. I wonder if the loudest opponents of these immigrants know what it feels like to see a loved one leave your residence and wonder if you will ever see them again. It's a feeling you wouldn't wish on your enemies, let alone your neighbors.

Those fighting for equality are always at a disadvantage against those from whom they seek it. To remedy this great inequity, I have taken it upon myself to be a voice of the 11 million. I will declare my bias openly, I am a champion of reform. I want to see these people realize the potential that I know they have. I want them to live free of fear, and to have happy and fulfilling lives. I don't want them to just dream the American dream, I want them to live it, and to promote it for others like I promote it for them.