Opinion: Sen. Sessions Facing Unwarranted Attacks

I experienced a major cultural shock 10 years ago when — as a credentialed congressional journalist on immigration and higher education for CQ and then the Hispanic Outlook magazine — I first started covering Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama). I had recently moved to D.C. after 50 years in Southern California and South America. I thought I knew American “Southerners,” but I was unprepared for Sessions’s lilting accent, dapper dress, quiet movements, soft voice and gentle arguments for highly conservative positions.

Tomorrow and Wednesday, Jan. 9 and 10, this gentleman senator is facing two days of hearings for approval as Attorney General of the United States. The press is honing in on accusations by the NAACP leadership that he is a racist, following a remark he made in 1986.

Advocates for broad comprehensive immigration reform express horror at the pending confirmation of the man who has led Senate initiatives to increase the enforcement of immigration laws and to restrict even legal immigration to the U.S. In addition to being labeled a “racist,” he has been called a “know-nothing,” “anti-immigrant,” “nativist” and “xenophobic.” Some in the media predict (hope for?) a hostile and contentious hearing.

I find the negative personal attacks on Jeff Sessions, mainly by Democrats, to be completely unwarranted. They are hardly examples of toning down the harsh rhetoric, name-calling and even fake news that Democrats take Republicans to task for.

The fact is, in the Senate Jeff Sessions is one of the most liked of all senators by members of both parties. Liberal Democratic senators such as New York’s Chuck Schumer and Illinois’s Dick Durbin have worked closely with him on bipartisan legislation such as fair sentencing for cocaine use. They confirm that he is affable and respectful even when they disagree. I’ve seen that up close.

In 2013, during two weeks of markups on the Senate bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill, then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid agreed to an almost unprecedented unlimited number of amendments and discussions by both parties. Sen. Sessions introduced dozens of amendments and argued for them cogently with facts and support from moderate senators like Orin Hatch (R-Utah). The Democratic majority did not approve a single one. Still, Sessions politely introduced each new one and urged his colleagues with quiet passion to consider them without bitterness or rancor.

I found Sen. Sessions always to be open to the press and willing to talk after a long hearing, when most senators scuttle to their offices flanked by staff. On many occasions, I got to ask my most pressing questions to him personally after a hearing (where, officially, the press is to be seen at a press table, but not heard).

Once, as a gaggle of reporters drifted off following him from the Senate chamber to his office, I found myself alone with him. He asked about my publication and we stood for almost 10 minutes outside his office as I shared with him the tremendous diversity and assimilation of the Latino American college students I covered. I gave him my card. Two days later, I received at my home a handwritten note from the senator thanking me for our interesting conversation.

He’s always been friendly, attentive and willing to answer a quick question every time I run into him, including at the Republican National Convention and at the ribbon cutting for the Trump International Hotel.

But most of all, I esteem him for his profound knowledge about immigration law in all its nuances. Of all the congressional staffs I deal with, he and his staff on the Senate Judiciary Committee are the best informed about the complicated implications of immigration laws, regulations, executive orders and the like.

In my opinion, Jeff Sessions is not in any way anti-immigrant or racist. I have observed how much he believes in the democratic process of lawmaking and in the rule of law, including the absolute need to enforce our laws, at times with prosecutorial discretion. He clearly understands that immigration is a great American tradition but not a civil right. He knows that being in the country illegally is certainly not a civil right and hurts low-wage American workers, especially African Americans. He knows that the very making and enforcement of immigration laws — even those you may not like — is not racist nor against civil rights nor American traditions.

Sen. Sessions deserves a thorough and respectful hearing.

*Peggy Sands is a reporter for The Georgetowner.*