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Home , DREAM Act, Laura Ingraham, NumbersUSA

FROM THE SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE DEMOCRATIC STAFF Senator Sessions’ Views and Positions on Are Too Extreme to be an Attorney General for All

Senator Sessions has been the most vocal opponent of immigration reform in the U.S. Senate. He holds extreme anti- immigrant positions, opposing both legal and . He routinely claims that immigrants take jobs from American workers, links immigrants to crime, and uses questionable statistics and evidence to argue that immigrants are a net drain on society. The Attorney General has authority to enforce many laws and policies relating to immigration. Senator Sessions’ extreme record demonstrates that he cannot be trusted to fairly enforce our nation’s immigration laws.

Senator Sessions has the worst record on immigration in the Senate.

 The conservative has labeled Sessions “amnesty’s worst enemy” and notes that he has been “the instrumental force in quashing repeated attempts to pass comprehensive immigration reform.” [National Review, 8/6/2014]

 NumbersUSA and the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), organizations favoring reductions in legal immigration levels, have praised Sessions’ nomination. NumbersUSA noted that his “relentless fight to reduce illegal and legal immigration has earned Sessions the highest grade in the Senate for this current Congress” on its “immigration reduction” report card. [NumbersUSA, 11/18/2016]

 Sessions has voted against every significant immigration reform bill in the past decade.

 2013 bill: Despite bipartisan support for S.744, including 14 Republicans who voted for the legislation, Sessions voted against it, and never made any genuine efforts to improve the bill. Instead, as an article noted, Sessions tried to kill the bill by introducing amendments “viewed as poison pills and by driving up public opposition with a drumbeat of floor speeches and statements.” [“The Senate’s anti-immigration warrior” 3/5/15]

 2007 bill: Senator Sessions strongly opposed the 2007 immigration bill. He said the compromise represented the idea of “no illegal alien left behind.” [Sessions Floor Speech, 6/25/2007] o He also linked the bill to terrorism, referring to it as the “Terrorist Assistance and Facilitation Act of 2007.” [Sessions Floor Speech, 6/27/2007]

 2006 bill: Sessions voted against 2006 “McCain-” bill, backed by then President George W. Bush. In a floor speech on the bill, he said “We simply cannot accept everyone who wants to come. It is painful to bring people who are not able to speak English or effectively take advantage of the opportunities our country has. When they do not do that, they do not do well. They tend to pull themselves apart and continue to speak their own language. They do not advance and assimilate and become part of the great melting pot we are so proud of as Americans.” [Sessions Floor Statement, 5/22/06]

 DREAM Act: Sessions voted against the bipartisan DREAM Act in 2010. He called the bill “very bad piece of legislation” and a “reckless proposal for mass amnesty.” [Sessions News Release, 12/6/2010] o Senator Sessions also opposes proposals that would provide undocumented students access to in-state tuition and federal higher education assistance such as student loans and work-study programs.

Senator Sessions’ views on immigration are out of the mainstream for his own party.

 Sessions has routinely been far to the right of fellow Republicans on immigration issues, taking extreme positions out of step with his own party. Sessions’ views represent a significant departure from those of President , who once said: “We have consistently supported a legalization program which is both generous to the alien and fair to the countless thousands of people throughout the world who seek legally to come to America.” [Reagan Library, 11/6/1986]

 Elected Republican leaders – including President George W. Bush, Senator John McCain, and Senator – as well as Republican national security leaders – including Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, and Michael Chertoff – have all endorsed comprehensive immigration reform as essential for our economy and national security.

 Senator Sessions’ immigration views are on the fringe of his party, enjoying the company of extreme voices like , Pamela Geller, and the anti-Muslim Center for Security Policy. has devoted significant coverage to Sessions’ immigration positions.

Senator Sessions holds extreme views on immigration that contradict American values.

 Birthright Citizenship: Sessions has questioned the constitutional basis of birthright citizenship, enshrined in the Constitution’s 14th Amendment. He has said that ending birthright citizenship “absolutely is not an extreme position.”

 Muslim Ban: Sessions has endorsed President-elect Trump’s controversial proposal to ban the entry of Muslim immigrants into the . This proposal has been condemned as antithetical to American values by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. [Washington Post, 12/8/2015] Former Vice President Dick Cheney and a number of other Republican leaders also denounced the proposal. [Washington Post, 12/8/2015] o Sessions was just one of only a few Senators on the Judiciary Committee to vote against Senator ’s resolution condemning any kind of religious test for those seeking entry into the United States. Despite the fact that Republican Senators Grassley, Hatch, Graham, Cornyn, Perdue, Lee, and Flake supported the resolution, Sessions vocally opposed it.

 Opposition to Legal Immigration: Sessions has opposed not only illegal immigration but also legal immigration, blaming immigration writ large for Americans’ loss of jobs and stagnation of wages. Senators Rob Portman, , and Richard Burr, among others, strongly disagree, endorsing our legal immigration system. [, 10/20/2016] o Sessions has also disparaged immigrants who come to the U.S. through the family-based immigration system. He once said: “Fundamentally, almost no one coming from the Dominican Republic to the United States is coming because they have a skill that would benefit us and that would indicate their likely success in our society.” [Sessions Floor Speech, 5/22/2006]

 Self-Deportation: Sessions has endorsed the idea of self-deportation. As an advisor to , Sessions said the then Presidential candidate was considering a plan in which immigrants would self-deport. He said: “you go to your home country and then you apply and then you come back in with legal status. You basically have to self-deport.” [The Huffington Post, 10/5/2016]

 DAPA: Sessions assailed the President’s executive action on immigration, calling it “unlawful executive amnesty.” [Weekly Standard, 11/14/2014]

 DACA: Sessions strongly criticized DACA, calling it a program that “gives amnesty by executive fiat.” [SESSIONS.SENATE.GOV] o Sessions also opposes allowing DACA recipients to enlist in certain military programs. He has been a strong supporter of Chris Crane, President of the National ICE Council, who was part of a lawsuit challenging the DACA program.

 Alabama Anti-Immigrant Law (HB 56): Sessions supported Alabama’s anti-immigrant law. In an interview, he stated: “I couldn’t agree more in the sense that this a rational response. It’s a law that I believe assists the federal government in its duty to create a lawful system of immigration. It’s one of the sad consequences of illegal immigration … [that] families can be hurt in the process.” [, 8/3/2011]

Myth v. Fact About Senator Sessions’ Immigration Claims

 Myth: Sessions believes we need a lawful system of immigration. o Fact: Sessions opposes all immigration – both legal and illegal. He claims that legal immigration “is the primary source of low-wage immigration into the United States.” [Washington Post, 4/9/2015]

 Myth: The American people have rejected immigration reform, as evidenced by the election of Donald Trump. o Fact: Despite the demonizing rhetoric against immigrants this election cycle, a Sept. 2016 CNN poll found that 88% of Americans – including 80% of Trump supporters polled – endorse comprehensive immigration reform with an earned pathway to citizenship. [CNN, 9/7/2016] Additionally, a Wall Street Journal analysis of exit polls following Election Day noted that 70% of voters supported a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants. [WSJ, 9/10/2016]

 Myth: We need to restore the American public’s trust in government’s ability to enforce immigration law. Enforcement collapsed during Obama administration. o Fact: The Obama administration deported record numbers of immigrants and did so by focusing on those who actually pose the highest threat to national security and public safety. Senator Sessions’ proposals on immigration enforcement are not the solution. They would undermine community trust and have a chilling effect on immigrants.

 Myth: Immigrants and refugees are a drain on the U.S. economy. o Fact: The Chamber of Commerce has found that immigrants are almost twice as likely to start businesses as native-born Americans, and that nearly 40% of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children – employing millions of Americans. The Migration Policy Institute recently observed that refugees are more likely to be employed than the overall U.S. population and, in most cases, become self-sufficient taxpayers within few years of their arrival.