April 1, 2023 The Newspaper Serving LGBT Los Angeles

Trump’s Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions once mocked crying son of California lesbian couple

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

BY CHRIS JOHNSON  |  In the aftermath of Donald Trump announcing that his choice for U.S. attorney general is Sen. Jeff Sessions, much has been reported about the Alabama Republican and his hard-line stance on immigration, his history of alleged racist comments and his anti-LGBT views — but one incident reported seven years ago has gone unnoticed in media coverage.

In 2009, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the Uniting American Families Act to draw attention to the plight of bi-national same-sex couples. The leading witness at the hearing was Shirley Tan, a Fillipino national who at the time had been with her American partner for 23 years and was raising two 12-year-old boys while under the threat of deportation.

In those days, Tan couldn’t marry her partner, Jay Mercado, in California because the recently enacted Proposition 8 barred same-sex marriage in the state. Even if the couple could marry, the Defense of Marriage Act was in place at the time and would have barred Mercado from obtaining for Tan a marriage-based green card to remain in the country. The Uniting American Families Act sought to remedy the situation by allowing gay Americans to sponsor a same-sex partner for residency in the United States.

A particularly poignant moment took place at the hearing when Tan recounted in 2009 immigration officials entering her San Francisco home and removing her.

“Immigration Custom Enforcement agents showed up at my door, the agents showed me a piece of paper,” Tan began as she became emotional.

At that point, one of her young sons began crying in the committee room, prompting then-Senate Judiciary Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to ask Tan to halt her testimony as he tried to console the child and invited him to move into a back room.

“I have a grandson the same age,” Leahy said. “I just want you to know, young man, your mother is a brave woman. You should be very proud of her.”

As the video of the hearing shows, Tan’s son apparently elected to stay in the room as Tan continued her testimony.

“Before I knew it, I was handcuffed and taken away like a criminal as Jay’s frail mother watched in hysterics,” Tan said. “I was put in a van with two men in yellow jumpsuits and chained and searched like a criminal in a way that I have only seen on television and in the movies. All the while my family was first and foremost the center of everything on my mind. How would Jay work and take care of the kids if I was not there? Who would continue to take care of Jay’s ailing mother, the mother I had come to love, if I was not there? Who would be there for my family if I was not there? In an instant, my American family was being ripped away from me.”

Tan recalled when she returned she had an ankle bracelet placed on her and tried to keep it hidden from her children.

Although Leahy sought to console the family, Sessions had a reaction that wasn’t as sympathetic, according to a contemporaneous report in The New Republic from gay journalist Jamie Kirchick:

Unmoved, however, was Alabama Republican Jeff Sessions, ranking minority member of the Committee and the only Republican to bother to attend the hearing. At the sight of the weeping boy, according to a Senate staffer who was at the hearing, Sessions leaned towards one of his aides and sighed, “Enough with the histrionics.” Sessions’s press secretary did not return a call seeking comment.

Sessions’ reported derision of the emotional display as “histrionics” is consistent with his opposition to same-sex marriage, his support for Donald Trump’s plan to expel millions of undocumented immigrants from the United States, his view that the Justice Department shouldn’t have stopped defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court and his stated belief the U.S. Supreme Court ruling for marriage equality nationwide was “unconstitutional.”

Rachel Tiven, executive director of Lambda Legal, told the Washington Blade she “of course” remembers the incident seven years ago during her tenure as chief of Immigration Equality, which helped facilitate the hearing.

“The attorney general does not have the power to rescind laws, executive orders, regulations, or guidance issued by other federal agencies,” Tiven added. “What is of great concern, however, is the attorney general’s role in determining the position of the federal government in lawsuits in which it is sued, the cases the Department of Justice chooses to bring, and who will fill high-level positions at the Department of Justice. In the years ahead, Lambda Legal will protect and defend LGBT and HIV+ people, and help lead the resistance to attacks on the civil rights of all.”

in NEWS
Related Posts

High-Profile Prosecutor Jonathan Hatami Enters Race for Los Angeles District Attorney

March 31, 2023

March 31, 2023

Hatami, a prosecutor in the Complex Child Abuse Unit at the Hall of Justice in downtown LA, has been vocal...

Long Beach Businesses with LGBTQ Flags Vandalized

March 24, 2023

March 24, 2023

By Susan Payne Three businesses in Long Beach have reported windows smashed in with one common denominator: visible LGBTQ symbols. ...

Newsom Calls Huntington Beach City Council Decision ‘Rank’

March 24, 2023

March 24, 2023

By Susan Payne Huntington Beach garnered disapproval from Governor Gavin Newsom on its recent decision to ban the flying of...

California’s Affordable Housing Crisis Disproportionately Impacts LGBTQ Adults, UCLA Study Finds

March 24, 2023

March 24, 2023

New Report by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research highlights the connection between lack of affordable housing, delayed access...

Santa Monica Place Invites LGBTQIA+ Artisans to Apply for Made With PRIDE Marketplace

March 21, 2023

March 21, 2023

Partnering with Streetlet, the marketplace will take place each weekend in June and showcase local goods made in Southern California....

Gus Kenworthy’s Gay Kiss Scene in ‘80 for Brady’ Cut Out

March 14, 2023

March 14, 2023

By Susan Payne “80 for Brady,” a 2023 comedy/drama film that follows a group of longtime friends who want to...

Abbey Founder Declares Drag is Not A Crime

March 14, 2023

March 14, 2023

By Susan Payne “Drag is not a crime.” In solidary with drag performers, David Cooley, founder of The Abbey Food...

Grants Available for Long Beach LGBTQ-Owned or Allied Restaurants

March 14, 2023

March 14, 2023

By Susan Payne LGBTQ-owned or allied restaurants in Long Beach are invited to apply for Grubhub’s Community Impact Grants ranging...

U.S. Food and Drug Administration Moves to Ease Restrictions on Blood Donations from Gay and Bisexual Men

March 9, 2023

March 9, 2023

The City of West Hollywood is getting the word out that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued proposed...

Board of Supervisors Approves Motion to Fly Progress Pride Flag in LA County Offices

March 9, 2023

March 9, 2023

Flags will be flown at Los Angeles County facilities where American and California flags are flown each year ​​Los Angeles...

Donatella Versace Visits the Los Angeles LGBT Center

March 9, 2023

March 9, 2023

Hosts master class with CFDA designers This week, the Los Angeles LGBT Center welcomed Donatella Versace, the Chief Creative Officer...

Versace Partners With CFDA on LGBTQ-Focused Initiative

March 6, 2023

March 6, 2023

By Susan Payne Donatella Versace is launching a masterclass at the Los Angeles LGBT Center on March 6 in partnership...

Suspect Pleads Guilty to Killing Los Angeles-Born Gay Man in 1988

March 6, 2023

March 6, 2023

By Susan Payne Last month, an Australian man pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 1988 death of an American who...

Bill Introduced for K-12 Statewide Gender-Neutral Restrooms

March 6, 2023

March 6, 2023

By Susan Payne A bill to require K-12 schools in California to provide appropriate and equitable access to gender-neutral restrooms...

UCLA’s New Volleyball Coach’s Gay Journey Reaches Full Circle

March 1, 2023

March 1, 2023

By Susan Payne Playing volleyball in a West Hollywood gym is where Alfred Reft became comfortable with his sexuality, alongside...