Jeff Sessions gives cops $78 million bribe to attack immigrants

The Trump administration has handed off $78.4 million to local police departments that have promised to do their dirty work and help round up undocumented immigrants.

It is the latest instance of the Department of Justice, under the leadership of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, pushing for Donald Trump’s discriminatory policies.

The funds were given to departments that agreed to allow immigration officers inside local jails and to notify federal authorities about undocumented people in custody. The policy is a reversal from President Barack Obama, who used those same funds to build trust between police and their communities, as well as to increase diversity among police.

Lorella Praeli, director of immigration policy and campaigns at the American Civil Liberties Union, slammed the dangerous precedent in a statement:

The Trump administration is hell-bent on coercing local police to implement its racist agenda. By funding local police departments that agree to target immigrants, President Trump is making communities less safe. Hundreds of thousands will now be reluctant to report incidents of domestic violence and other crimes because they are scared of being detained or deported.

Praeli went on to note, “Trump is solidifying his ultimate goal: to create a divided and fearful country.”

The bribe is just the latest attack on immigrants by Trump, who launched his presidential campaign by describing Mexicans as “rapists.”

The hand-picked underling to turn Trump’s racist dreams into reality has been Sessions. Sessions was the one who gleefully announced the Trump administration plan to deport hundreds of thousands of children by rescinding the DACA policy put in place by Obama.

Experts have repeatedly derided Trump’s silly plan to build a wall along the southern border, but Sessions pushed for a change in policy that would target American citizens to fund the plan. To justify the plan, Sessions dismissively told ABC News, “These are mostly Mexicans.”

The comments and policy backed by Sessions are a continuation of the racism and anti-immigrant sentiment he espoused while serving in the Senate.

Trump has tried to weaponize the government against immigrants since assuming the presidency. In addition to his push for the wall, he also tried repeatedly to impose a ban on Muslims traveling to the United States. That effort provoked a loud public outcry, and he has lost several federal court cases.

The administration has also ramped up deportation of undocumented immigrants, crushing families who have spent years working and contributing to the growth of the United States.

Mayors across the country have been standing up to the racist Trump agenda, protecting families from Trump’s racist intentions with sanctuary cities as their refuge. This is why Trump and Sessions have had to resort to blatant bribery.