Trump’s 2 Possible Attorney General Picks Would Spell Bad News For Undocumented Immigrants

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) is under consideration to be the next attorney general, one source was told by aides to President-elect Donald Trump. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach are famous for their hardline stances on immigration, so, should President-elect Donald Trump reward their loyalty with a cabinet seat, the Department of Homeland Security might seem like a natural fit. Either of them, however, might get another top position in the Trump administration instead: attorney general. And immigrant rights advocates and the undocumented community have plenty to fear if either gets the top Justice Department spot. Sessions, a top opponent of so-called “amnesty” for undocumented immigrants, is being considered for attorney general because he “said he wanted to be AG, not Secretary of Defense, and … Trump was inclined to give him what he wants,” top Trump aides told one source. Another source familiar with the discussions said that Kobach, who helped craft legislation aimed at driving out undocumented immigrants such as Arizona’s SB 1070, is being considered. (The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment.) As the head of the Department of Justice, Sessions or Kobach would have considerable power to affect, directly or indirectly, how decisions are made in immigration cases. They could change precedents for how judges and lawyers interpret the law, such as who qualifies for asylum. They could impede civil rights investigations into immigration-related discrimination. They could instruct government attorneys to stop defending policies the Trump administration doesn’t like. There are two offices in the Department of Justice that deal specifically with immigration. The one with the most power to change undocumented immigrants’ lives is the Executive Office for Immigration Review, where judges decide whether someone should be deported or granted reprieve. Especially important is its Board of Immigration Appeals ― the “Supreme Court of immigration law,” as Stephen Legomsky, a former senior counselor to the secretary of Homeland Security and professor emeritus at Washington University School of Law, calls it. Attorneys general can do away with certain precedents that are helpful to unauthorized immigrants or create others that hurt their chances of reprieve, such as by shaping what qualifies an individual for asylum under the law. This power isn’t used often, Legomsky said, but it has the potential to make a significant difference. Asylum is a particularly important topic now, as a large number of mothers and children from Central America continue to come to the U.S. to seek relief, often claiming persecution from domestic abuse or gang violence. The law doesn’t specifically mention either as grounds for asylum ― that’s for the courts to interpret. In 1994, then-Attorney General Janet Reno, who served under President Bill Clinton, helped shape interpretation of asylum law when she set as precedent a Board of Immigration Appeals decision to grant asylum to an individual who was persecuted by his or her government because of sexual orientation. The attorney general can also fire immigration judges and replace them. It’s […]

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