--- title: Jeff Sessions: Democratic Senators Urge Hate Crimes Action description: Democrats send letter urging the Attorney General to tackle a wave of hate crimes canonical: https://time.com/4689093/sessions-trump-hate-crimes-anti-semitism/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-02T20:36:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T03:38:14.978Z article:section: Politics og:title: Democrats Press Jeff Sessions to Tackle Hate Crimes og:description: Urge him to preserve funding for two crucial programs at the DOJ og:url: https://time.com/4689093/sessions-trump-hate-crimes-anti-semitism/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6fae91ab0b63606b/6988bcccab6d77f4456ad11d/gettyimages-646010002.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Jewish Cemetery In Philadelphia Vandalized og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Democrats Press Jeff Sessions to Tackle Hate Crimes twitter:description: Urge him to preserve funding for two crucial programs at the DOJ twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6fae91ab0b63606b/6988bcccab6d77f4456ad11d/gettyimages-646010002.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Senators Urge Trump Administration to Fight Hate Crimes  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Mar 2, 2017 8:36 PM UTC  Jewish tombstones lay vandalized at Mount Carmel Cemetery February 27, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Mark Makela--Getty Images) Jewish tombstones lay vandalized at Mount Carmel Cemetery February 27, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Mark Makela--Getty Images)Mark Makela—Getty Images  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Mar 2, 2017 8:36 PM UTC Twenty five Senate Democrats urged Attorney General Jeff Sessions to use the Justice Department to combat hate crimes Thursday after what they call an “alarming increase” in [bias incidents around the country](http://time.com/4688221/hate-incidents-sow-fear-across-u-s/). “We write to urge you to make combatting hate crimes a major focus at the Department of Justice and prioritize funding for the protection of civil rights,” the Senators wrote, citing a recent spike in hate incidents as recorded by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the FBI. They also noted that it was likely that the FBI numbers significantly undercount the actual number of bias incidents, since 17% of local law enforcement departments have not recorded a single hate crime in six years. Since January, at least 90 bomb threats have been called in to Jewish centers and schools, and the Center for American Islamic Relations has tracked a 40% increase in anti-Muslim incidents between 2015 and 2016, the worst year since they started keeping track of hate incidents in 2009. The letter comes as Sessions is under fire for [reportedly meeting](http://time.com/4688090/jeff-sessions-russian-ambassador-trump-campaign/) with the Russian ambassador during the presidential campaign, then testifying to Congress during his recent confirmation hearings that he “did not have communications with the Russians.” [Top Democrats](http://time.com/4688760/jeff-sessions-russia-resign-chuck-schumer-transcript/) are calling for Sessions to resign, [while Republicans are urging him to recuse himself ](https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/top-gop-lawmaker-calls-on-sessions-to-recuse-himself-from-russia-investigation/2017/03/02/148c07ac-ff46-11e6-8ebe-6e0dbe4f2bca%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.b40f8f52d25b)from the ongoing DOJ probe into Russia’s interference with the U.S. election. The letter was [orchestrated by Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin,](https://www.buzzfeed.com/dominicholden/senators-ask-trump-admin-for-funds-to-fight-hate-crime?utm%5Fterm=.xb41NR3ZE#.ryXva3LRw) who is the first openly gay senator in history. It references the widespread concern about Sessions’ record on civil rights, particularly given his opposition to the 2009 Hate Crimes Prevention Act as a senator. “You stated publicly during your confirmation hearings that you would indeed enforce this law,” the letter says. “Now, more than ever, we need a clear demonstration of your commitment to doing so.” The Senators are asking Sessions to fully fund the Justice Department’s Community Relations Service, which oversees neutral mediation of community concerns, and the Civil Rights Division, which enforces federal civil rights and hate crime laws. “It is imperative that the Department, under your leadership, send a strong message that violence borne out of hatred based on race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other characteristic will not be tolerated,” the letter says. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4689093/sessions-trump-hate-crimes-anti-semitism/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4689093/sessions-trump-hate-crimes-anti-semitism/"},"headline":"Senators Urge Trump Administration to Fight Hate Crimes","datePublished":"2017-03-02T20:36:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:38:14.978Z","description":"Democrats send letter urging the Attorney General to tackle a wave of hate crimes","url":"https://time.com/4689093/sessions-trump-hate-crimes-anti-semitism/","keywords":["democrats","Senate","hate crimes","democratic","Jeff Sessions"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6fae91ab0b63606b/6988bcccab6d77f4456ad11d/gettyimages-646010002.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6fae91ab0b63606b/6988bcccab6d77f4456ad11d/gettyimages-646010002.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Jewish Cemetery In Philadelphia Vandalized","caption":"Jewish Cemetery In Philadelphia Vandalized","creditText":"Mark Makela—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4689093/sessions-trump-hate-crimes-anti-semitism/","name":"Senators Urge Trump Administration to Fight Hate Crimes"}}]}] ```