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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Kristen Clarke, President and Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, issued the following statement Tuesday responding to President Trump’s first State of the Union address:

“Once again, President Trump missed an opportunity to unify the country with his polarizing and divisive speech.  From subtle digs at peaceful demonstrators who are speaking out against racial injustice and police shootings, to the failure to recognize the spike in hate crimes across the country to the silence on issues such as voter suppression, the President’s speech was tone deaf to the core concerns of African Americans and other minority communities.  While the President referenced concern regarding prison reform, the reality is that under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, this administration has reignited the War on Drugs and brought criminal justice reform to a grinding halt.  Moreover, his racially-coded language smearing immigrant communities and unreasonable policy proposals for DACA recipients awaiting a path to citizenship stands to set back bipartisan efforts to achieve immigration reform.”

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