>> the sub-committee will come

to order. without objection, the chair is authorized to declare a recess at any time. we welcome everyone to today's hearing on the department of justice civil rights division. with that, we will have the pledge of allegiance. will the gentleman from arizona lead us in the pledge of

allegiance? our colleague, mr. biggs marzano will be able to participate in the hearing today for the purpose of questioning the witness. if a member yields him time for that purpose, i will now

recognize myself for an opening statement. thank our witness for being here today. the civil rights division is responsible for the enforcement of civil rights statutes enacted by congress and related constitutional guarantees. this is an issue that is near and dear to my heart. i too, in a previous life served in the department of justice, having served as special assistant united states attorney in the eastern district of texas. my job there as the witness and my colleagues know is to equally enforce the law. my grandfather was the chief of police in sweetwater texas. his job was to equally enforce the law. my grandmother was the first woman elected county clerk in nolan county, texas after my grandfather passed away from cancer. when my dad was seven years old, his job was to equally enforce the law justice is blind and we must follow the facts wherever they may take us like all components of the justice department. the civil rights division is expected to do the same equally enforce the law. unfortunately, under the biden administration, this has not always been the case. civil rights division has fixed its sight, for example, on those charged with protecting us. police departments often harassing these departments to the point that they cannot do their jobs. there have been a series of investigations, minneapolis, louisville, phoenix, mount vernon, new york, louisiana state police, new york city police department, special victims division, maryland department of state police, worcester,chusetts police department, memphis police trenton, new jersey, lexington, mississippi 11 times.

over the last two years, we've seen a significant disparity. there are just a few examples of how the doj civil rights division has targeted those who protect our communities. it's not to say there are not circumstances meriting review but in the midst of rising crime , plummeting police recruiting , open borders, mountains of fentanyl. doj is prioritizing investigations with small to mid size these departments. under president biden doj has opened 11 pattern or practice investigations in the police departments throughout the country compared to just one under the previous administration. this combined with fairly radical views that we'll talk about with the witness earlier about defunding the police in the past, which raises concerns about the intent of such investigations, especially at a time when police are demoralized , following the defund the police movement and crime wave that is followed. the division's activities have also too often amounted to using the law to advantage or disadvantage certain states and individuals. for example, the freedom of access to clinic entrances or face act prohibits threats of force obstruction of property damage intended to interfere with the reproductive health care services. this law protects abortion

clinics, pregnancy resource centers and houses of worship alike. however, the divisions of prosecutions under the face act show a significant bias toward prosecuting face act violations involving abortion clinics, particularly a situation involving mark ha who was charged under the face act for protecting his young son from a belligerent abortion activist, on may 2nd 2022 a draft copy of the supreme court's decision in dobbs v. jackson women's health organization was leaked to the press. this leak gave rise to widespread demonstrations and attacks on pro-life facilities. in fact, following the leak, more than 100 pro-life facilities were vandalized or damaged including by arson. 218 catholic churches have been attacked since the dobbs decision was leaked according to catholic vote. according to the family research council, there are 57 pro a acts of hostility against churches from january 22 to september 22. and in the first quarter of 23 of fiscal 23 there were 69 incidents of hostility toward churches.

in the face of this increase, you would expect the civil rights division to step up and protect the civil rights of these americans. but there was not. in 2022 the department brought 26 prosecutions under the face act. all of them involved alleged incidents at abortion clinics. in 23 the department has identified for the committee, one prosecution of four individuals in florida who spray painted threats on pregnancy resource centers in the state. this marked the first time in american history that the face act was used against pro abortion protesters. this questionable use of resources is further illustrated by other activities of the division. in 2021, the department began a lawsuit against the state of georgia alleging a new election law was enacted with the purpose of denying or abridging the right of black georgians to vote on account of their race or color. the problem is that's just not true, and the court's decisions in that case today to borne that out. recently, the court refused to block several provisions of the law while the litigation continues. notably, the court found that the department has not shown that any of the provisions have a disparate impact on black voters. quite simply the facts on the

ground do not match the allegations in the department's lawsuit. while the department is devoting resources to this politically motivated lawsuit is missing in action when constitutional rights are violated. in september of this year, new mexico governor michelle lujan grisham issued a public health order banning the otherwise lawful carrying of firearms in certain jurisdictions in the state. this order was plainly unconstitutional under the second and 14th amendments in the supreme court's precedents. despite this plain violation of american rights, the civil rights division was nowhere to be found. an advocacy group, not the department had to bring a lawsuit to overturn the order. the division failed to file an amicus brief or even a statement of interest to protect americans second amendment rights. more recently, the civil rights department appears to be standing idly by while jewish americans have their civil rights violated by radical pro palestinian protesters since hamas's cowardly october 7th attack in which it murdered innocent israelis, women and kidnapped babies. rampant anti semitism has reared its ugly head on american

college campuses and throughout major american cities. just this weekend, pro palestinian protesters in philadelphia protested outside of goldie, a jewish owned falafel restaurant with a location less than a mile away from independence hall where the declaration of independence was signed. the division must return to the nonpartisan work of protecting the rights of all americans. i would note that there is an ongoing list of anti semitic threats and violence throughout the west, anti semite spray montreal jewish schools and bullets attack some aipac president's home in l a investigated as hate crime. burbank police search for a suspect that spray painted schwa -- swastika on synagogue benon hell jewish center at the university of florida vandalized with anti-semitic graffiti. cornell cancels classes after a student arrested for anti semitic threats of murder and rape. fbi investigating after synagogue desig with anti-israel anti semitic graffiti. that's eight of literally pages of examples of anti semitic acts in the wake of october 7th. and it is notable that there has

been basically silence. so it is true, the division must return to the nonpartisan work of protecting the rights of all americans, not just those that it favors, i look forward to hearing this morning how that will happen. i will now recognize the ranking member, the gentlewoman from pennsylvania ms. scanlon for her opening statement. >> thank you. assistant attorney general clark, i want to welcome you to the judiciary committee and this very important oversight hearing to help the committee and the american public understand the critical role that the civil rights division of the department of justice plays in protecting the fundamental rights and freedoms of all americans. this hearing is particularly important since your predecessor refused the committee's request for an oversight hearing amidst the trump administration's efforts to weaponize the department of justice in a way that was unprecedented in the history of this great nation. under that administration, we saw members of the department of justice leadership, acting as the president's personal personal attorneys, repeating

election disinformation, withdrawing support for voting rights and other civil rights enforcement. and reversing course on decades of work to ensure that law enforcement agencies protect the rights of all americans. and of course, under that administration, we saw the normalization of hate speech, chaos and political violence, which is tearing apart so many of our communities today. that's why it's so important that we understand the critical role of the department of justice's civil rights division in combating civil rights violations and securing our fundamental freedoms and what congress needs to do to support that mission at this time. it's worth remembering that congress explicitly created the civil rights division as part of the civil rights act of 1957 to protect the voting rights of black americans and other minorities. the very genesis of the civil rights division was rooted in the federal effort to protect voting rights and reflected the belief that in a democracy, the right to vote is the foundation upon which all other rights and freedoms ultimately rest. these core civil rights and freedoms include the right to

cast a vote in a free and fair election regardless of race, the right to be free from discrimination in employment, housing, and education, and the right to be free from violence based on hate. and i look forward to how the civil rights division has renewed its commitment to these principles under its current leadership. under the trump administration, we saw the civil rights division abdicate its responsibility to enforce many voting rights and other civil rights protections. so i'm heartened to see a renewed focus by the division on vigorous civil rights enforcement. understanding that the right to cast a vote in a free and fair election is the foundation of all other rights. i appreciate the division's renewed focus on voting rights , taking action in over 40 voting rights matters since january 2021 ranging from voting related enforcement actions to filing statements of interest in numerous private enforcement actions including two in pennsylvania. but we continue to need vigorous enforcement of the voting rights act as we've seen a tsunami of restrictive voting laws enacted

by states over the past three years with the potential to impact the 2024 election. of course, much of this legislative activity stems from the supreme court's erosion of the voting rights act of 1965 through a series of decisions beginning with shelby county versus holder and continuing with bravano. bravanovich versus democratic national committee. these decisions have made it harder and more resource intensive for of the civil rights division and other voting rights act plaintiffs to prevail in enforcement actions. but there is a solution, of course, that is that congress must act. congress must respond to these misguided decisions by reauthorizing the voting rights act and updating the guardrails of our democratic republic to respond to 21st century threats. we must pass the john r. lewis voting rights advancement act, which would reinvigorate the voting rights act and ensure full funding for the civil rights division to deploy more resources to enforce voting rights protections. the civil rights division also

bears responsibility for enforcing federal hate crime laws. at a time when over the past seven years, we've seen an explosion of hate speech and political violence, whether directed towards racial or ethnic minorities, women and lgbtq plus persons or members of religious groups, all across the country. communities have been impacted by hate incidents as they've trended upwards. statistics compiled by the fbi show that last year even with imperfect reporting, law enforcement agencies reported over 11,000 hate crime incidents, over 59% of those victims were targeted because of their race or ethnicity. another 17.3% were targeted based on their religion and another 17% were targeted because of their sexual orientation. of course, in the charged environment surrounding hamas' terrorist attack on october 7th and israelis, israel's military response to the attack. we've seen increasing reports of anti semitism and islamophobia , including incidents of

potential hate crimes. also for decades, the civil rights division has played an important role in helping law enforcement agencies to keep their communities safe and uphold the rule of law while protecting the civil rights of all citizens. one of the tools for doing this is to work with communities to address patterns and practices of violations in law enforcement, a tool that was abandoned by the trump department of justice. and i look forward to hearing what progress has been made in this area again. thank you, assistant attorney general clark for being with us and updating us on the work of the division and what congress needs to do to assist the division in that work. thank you. i yield back. >> i now recognize the ranking member of the full committee. mr nadler for his opening statement should he care to get going. >> thank you, mr chairman. i would like to begin by thanking hisistant attorney -- assistant general kristen clark for appearing before the sub-committee today. unfortunately it has been

several years since we have had the opportunity to question the head of the department of civil rights division, department of justice civil rights division because general clark's immediate predecessor during the trump administration never appeared before us. in a sense, i don't blame the department for its eva evasion at the time because back then, it had nothing good to report to us as it practically abdicated its responsibility to vigorously enforce our nation's critical civil rights laws. i'm pleased however, that under the biden administration and under assistant attorney general clark's leadership, the division is once again taking its role seriously. that means protecting americans from a nationwide effort to undermine the right to vote, working with local communities to investigate and resolve patterns and practices of unconstitutional conduct in law enforcement agencies, addressing the disturbing rise in hate crimes across the country and combating discrimination in all forms, whether it be in employment, housing, education or elsewhere. on all of these critical issues

and many others that impact millions of americans, the dedicated staff of the civil rights division works tirelessly to ensure that all americans regardless of their race, religion, national origin , disability or sexual orientation are treated equally under the law. thank you for your efforts in leading this vital department. excuse me. and top of mind for me today is the recent rise in anti semitism and the general rise in hate crimes and other forms of illegal discrimination that has transpired over the past several years. according to the most recent data compiled by the fbi for the year 2022 and the testimony of federal law enforcement officials, there's been a significant documented increase in antisemitic hate crimes and discrimination. according to fbi data, even before hamas brutal terrorist attack on october 7th, antisemitism was on the rise. in 2022, there were 2042 reported incidents based on

religion and more than half of these were driven by anti jewish bias. during recent testimony before the senate fbi director christopher wray stated that the threat of anti-semitism quote is reaching in some way sort of historic levels and that that was in part because the jewish community is targeted by terrorists really across the spectrum, including foreign terrorist organizations and domestic violent terrorist extremists. director wray went on to say that the fbi statistics would indicate that for a group that represents only about 2.4% of the american public, jewish americans account for something like 60% of all religious based hate crimes, but it is not just the jewish community that is experiencing a rise in hate in the weeks since the october 7th attacks, there have been tragic incidents of islamophobia and anti arab hate across the country, including the recent shooting of three palestinian american students in vermont and the murder of a six year old muslim child in illinois. and unfortunately, hate crimes rooted in race, ethnicity or ancestry continue to remain the most common.

according to that same fbi data, there were 6557 reported race motivated incidents in 2022. and the number of anti-black incidents was more than three times higher than the next highest racial or ethnic category. additionally, fbi data also shows a disturbing trend of increasing instances of violence against the transgender and gender non conforming community. as we all know, while statistics can help us quantify and understand the magnitude of the problem, they cannot fully convey the damage that bias motivated crimes inflict upon our communities. general clark, i cannot emphasize enough how vulnerable the jewish community in america is feeling at this moment especially now that the october , 7th attack appears to have led to an explosive rise in anti-semitism, both at home and abroad. and they know without a doubt that every other community i

just mentioned shares that same sense of vulnerability following similar hate motivated crimes. if unaddressed, hate crimes send the message to every member of a community that you are not a real person and therefore are undeserving of the law's protection. addressing that feeling of vulnerability is of course the point of hate crimes enforcement to provide not only justice for the victim but for the entire community. so i'm heartened to hear that under your leadership, the civil rights division has brought over 100 hate crime related cases and secured numerous convictions , including against the perpetrators of the attacks in buffalo, pittsburgh, and el paso. that is why i also believe it is crucial for congress to provide sufficient tools and resources to the civil rights division so that it can effectively address this rise in hate as well as to carry out its mission to remedy illegal discrimination in voting, employment, education, public accommodations and government funded programs and services.

in that vein, if i may general clark, i would offer a few words of advice to you and to those members of the public who may be following today's hearing. don't be distracted by the republican sideshow, fueled by their conspiracy minded allies in their conservative media echo chamber of which we have already heard a preview today. under your leadership, the civil rights division is properly focused on the enforcement of rights that are essential to the functioning of our diverse democratic society. after all, if you can be attacked with impunity because of your religion, denied the right to vote because of your race, fired from your job because of your sex, or prohibited from receiving an education because you are transgender, the fundamental rights and values enshrined in the constitution are not worth the paper they are written on. i look forward to our distinguished witnesses testimony and i yield back the balance of my time. >> i thank the ranking member for his statement. without objection, all other

opening statements will be included in the record. we will now introduce today's witness. the honorable kristen clark, ms. clark is the assistant attorney general for civil rights. she was sworn in on may 25th, 2021. we welcome our witness and thank her for appearing today. we will begin by swearing you in. would you please rise and raise your right hand? do you swear or affirm under penalty of perjury that the testimony you are about to give is true and correct to the best of your knowledge, information and belief. so help you god. >> i do. >> thank you. let the record reflect that the witness has answered in the affirmative. please note that your written testimony will be entered into the record in its entirety accordingly. we ask that you summarize your testimony. ms. clark, you may begin. >> thank you. good morning, chairman roy, ranking member, scanlon, uh ranking member, nadler and distinguished members of this subcomittee. thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. protecting civil rights is essential to the department of

justice. in fact, the department was created in 1870 in part to confront the ku klux klan and others who used terror and violence to prevent black people from exercising their civil and constitutional rights. nearly 100 years later, congress gave new energy to this work by enacting legislation that established the civil rights division and empowered it to protect the civil rights of every person in america. our work remains vital as we continue sadly, to see acts of bigotry, violence, and discrimination in many aspects of life. the division combats these harms by enforcing the constitution and the protections enshrined in law by congress. we work to ensure that every eligible american has voice in our democracy by confronting

voting discrimination and we work to advance equal opportunity in employment, housing, education and more. we safeguard the rights of people with disabilities and we defend the civil rights of those who defend our nation in the armed forces both past and present. we work to vindicate the rights of sexual assault survivors and people who experience sexual harassment on campuses and workplaces, in housing and in jails and prisons. we work to ensure that law enforcement personnel carry out their jobs lawfully and without bias. this work includes prosecutions of officers who abuse their power, including officers tied to the tragic deaths of george floyd in minneapolis, brianna taylor in louisville and tyree nichols in memphis. work that has particular urgency today is our response to bias motivated violence.

fbi data show that reported hate crimes are at the highest level in more than a decade. black people remain the group most frequently targeted by hate crimes, and crimes motivated by anti semitism, islamophobia and bias against the victim's sexual orientation or gender identity have also climbed in number in the weeks following the devastating october 7th attacks in israel and ensuing violence in the middle east. we've seen an alarming rise in acts of hate in our neighborhoods, on our campuses, and in our streets. we know that too many communities are living in fear and we've all seen the horrors that result from hate. the charleston nine, the el paso 23, the tree of life 11, the buffalo 10, the club q five, the

jacksonville three. each of these tragedies offers a bleak testament to the death, pain and trauma that can flow from bigotry and hatred. and so the division's top priority is to investigate and prosecute unlawful acts of hate. since january of 2021, the division has charged more than 105 defendants in more than 95 cases for committing hate crimes. and during that same period, we obtained more than 90 convictions. for example, the division secured a guilty verdict against the man who killed 11 people and critically wounded seven others at the tree of life synagogue in pittsburgh. the division also secured a conviction of the man who killed 23 and wounded 22 more at a walmart in el paso, texas victims targeted because of their hispanic identity. and we secured convictions of the three men responsible for

the racially motivated killing of ahmaud arbery in georgia. hate crimes are message crimes. the perpetrators not only target their direct victims but also seek to instill fear in the victim's community. but our prosecutions send a louder and more powerful message that hate crimes will not be tolerated in our democracy. that perpetrators will be punished and held accountable , and that the communities targeted will be safeguarded by the federal government. as i close, i want to recognize the hundreds of dedicated public servants in the civil rights division who carry out this critical work. their commitment inspires me each day and i'm honored to represent them here today. thank you and i look forward to your questions. >> thank you, ms. clark. we will now proceed under the five minute rule with questions. the chair will recognize myself for five minutes.

ms. clark, in a june 2020 op ed, you wrote quote, i advocate for defunding policing operations that have made african americans more vulnerable to police violence and contributed to mass incarceration while investing more in programs and police policies that address critical community needs. since that time in summer of 2020 there have been significant drops in recruiting police nationwide, significant evidence of morale dropping for our police officers and communities across the country. simple statement, do you stand behind that statement in the op ed that you wrote in the summer of 2020 advocating quote for defunding police policing operations. >> microphone, ma'am. >> the justice department fully supports funding and supporting our law enforcement. >> but my question was different

than that. i mean, you penned it and you are the head of the civil rights division and you penned the op ed in the summer of 2020 in the middle, in the midst of significant unrest around the country where our law enforcement community was dealing with significant attacks on them. and you wrote, i advocate for defunding policing operations. do you stand by that statement? >> i've not advocated for defunding law enforcement at the justice department. we allocate millions of dollars by way of our office of justice programs, cops office, office of violence against women. >> the time to answer on the question. the question is just simple. you wrote that statement. do you stand behind that statement or do you now repudiate that statement. >> i have not advocated for defunding law enforcement , chairman and i appreciate the difficult jobs that our law enforcement officers do each day to keep us safe and believe it's important that they have the resources to carry out their jobs. >> well, importantly, black americans make up 36% of violent crime victims, but only 14% of

the population. do you think defunding the police as you wrote in an op ed in june of 2020? it's in writing. do you think defunding the police makes african americans black community more vulnerable to violence? >> i support ensuring that law enforcement have the resources and support needed to carry out their jobs. public safety is a top priority for all of us. >> i would note that the city of austin and the travis county da's office sent you a joint letter just i think yesterday or maybe the day before announcing that 17 of the 21 austin police department officers indicted for alleged excessive force violations between may 29th and may 31 in that summer of unrest were cleared. we had 17 law -- law enforcement officers who were indicted by the local da and then they were suddenly clear, but then they sent a letter the same day requesting that the doj civil rights division investigate the austin police departments. despite the fact, the austin police department had been a model for the department of

justice how to engage in the use of force. my question for you is will you investigate the district attorney for having indicted 17 police officers and then suddenly walking away for a political safe phasing rather than investigating the police department. >> i'm not aware of that correspondence. i'm happy to look into this matter. >> i would look forward to working with your office to do that. it is extraordinarily concerning. in your written testimony, you mentioned the doj has prosecuted face act violations involving both abortion providers and pregnancy resource centers. can you tell us how many face act cases have been filed since it was enacted in 1994? >> so the freedom of access to clinic entrances act is an important law. we apply it evenhanded. i don't have statistics on the number of cases since the law's passage. >> would it surprise you that

the data i have says that it's been brought 130 times since 1994. because then my question is, is how many face act cases have been filed in defense of abortion providers or in defense of pro-abortion activists versus how many face act cases have been filed in defense of pro-life americans or churches that have been attacked? and i wonder if you know the date on those? >> well, i believe uh in outreach and have been aggressively conducting outreach to all groups so that the public understands that the face act applies to both pro-choice and pro-life groups. and i will flag for you, chairman, that we recently had january in against two florida residents for spray painting threats on pregnancy resource -- resource centers. >> and i certainly, i certainly appreciate that you all did that. but the numbers i have are out of 130 uses of the face act

since 1994 126 were for pro abortion activists and for in defense of abortion providers and four have been for pro-life americans and, or churches. and i think that was one of them in january. i'd let you respond to that and then i am out of time. >> while i can't speak to what happened in prior administrations. what i can assure you is that the division is committed to full and evenhanded enforcement of this important federal law. >> thank you, ms. clark. mr. cohen. >> thank you for coming before this committee and thank you for your work and dedication to seeing that the constitution is properly protected and that people are given the rights that are extended there from. can you tell me some of the things that you have done and the justice department has done

to improve city's capacities to fight crime, which is a serious issue in this country today and particularly in my city, memphis, tennessee. >> yes. thank you for the question. congressman, public safety is an important priority for the justice department and for our attorney general. my colleagues in the criminal division, a sister component recently launched an initiative in your city of memphis to deal with violent crime while i can't speak to that initiative. what i can assure you is that this justice department is committed to partnering and working with jurisdictions and officials to ensure public safety. >> and that's a national program that started in houston. it's going to go to other cities as well. >> i believe that's correct. >> thank you. and i appreciate memphis being in a red state. you're coming and helping us with this great problem. civil rights enforcement and the voting rights act and the americans with disabilities are three of my major issues. what exactly is the department of justice doing to enforce the voting rights act? i know we've seen some actions in alabama and in louisiana and

maybe in another one of the southern states. what have they done there and on disability rights as well. >> so, congressman, i started off my career at the justice department as a voting rights lawyer. and what i can assure you is that the civil rights division remains steadfast in ensuring that we're using the voting rights act, national voter registration act, help america vote act. the uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting act to ensure that every eligible american has voiced in our democracy. we're filing lawsuits. we are filing statements of interest in third-party lawsuits to help guide the courts on the appropriate interpretation and application of the law. we're issuing guidance documents and more, but we are without one of our most powerful tools given the suspension of the section five preclearance provision following the shelby county alabama versus holder ruling. >> and don disabilities?

>> enforcement of the ada is a hallmark of our work in the civil rights division. every day, we're working to ensure that people with disabilities have access to jobs , housing. and we're also very mindful of the barriers that people face when comes to web access. and so again, through litigation, through guidance, through technical assistance and providing service to the public by way of ada.gov and more, we are fighting to stand up for people with disabilities across our country. >> that's so important to give everybody an opportunity to have a full life and not to have some accident of nature or disease being an impediment to that. then the justice department's actions are great. section five was eliminated by the supreme court. section two is alive and it has been used and used well, even though sometimes it's late and it takes time. now there's a argument in the eighth circuit where they ruled that only the government can

bring a case under section two of the voting rights act have most of the cases that have been brought under section been two brought by individuals or by the government? and if it does come out that that is upheld by the supreme court or rule that it's a proper interpretation of the voting rights act and the constitution, what will that do to the voting rights enforcement in your >> -- enforcement in your division? while the justice department takes seriously its obligation to enforce section two. no doubt, private parties, nonpartisan organizations have played a central role. supreme court precedent, legislative history and decades of work in the courts have long made clear that private groups enjoy a private right action under section two of the voting rights act. we weighed in in this case in the eighth circuit and we'll continue to watch very closely what's playing out here.

>> most of the cases brought under section two, have they been brought by the government? have they been brought by private litigants? >> the raw numbers probably show that the sum total of work by private groups has been larger -- larger. >> private attorney generals. >> that's right. nonpartisan organizations, they absolutely have played a critical role working alongside the government to ensure that every eligible american has voice in our democracy. >> thank you very much. and while i know your shoes are more difficult to walk in than john lewis, you are walking in john lewis' shoes and i hope at all times you will remember that and continue to enforce voting rights. i yield back the balance of my time. thank you, congressman. >> thank you, mister cohen. i will now recognize the gentleman from california, mister mcclintock. >> thank you, ms. clark, because i'm sure you've surmised the concern of many of us here involves the unequal application of the laws based on the

political or ethnic identity of those who the chair cited. many examples involving everything from acts of violence against pro-life clinics, to anti semitic hate crimes. for example, the law is only respected if it is applied evenly. so what can you tell us to address these concerns? >> thank you, congressman. i believe wholeheartedly that the division, the entire department is committed to evenhanded enforcement of the law. we follow the facts and we apply the law. when it comes to hate crimes, semitic violence and standing up to anti-semitic hate crimes is a top priority. >> what you say and what you do seem to be very different things. for example, how many prosecutions is your division initiated against violence and vandalism by antiabortionist groups such as jane's revenge , against anti-abortion clinics as opposed to the other way around? the chairman cited 126 prosecutions against pro-life groups and only four against pro-abortion groups under the

face act? are these numbers correct? and if they are, how do you explain them? >> well, i can't speak to prior administrations. what i can tell you is that in this year alone, we've had indictments in january and march. >> well, how many, how many prosecutions during your tenure have been initiated against pro-life groups? and how many against pro a -- abortion groups? >> well, i provided two examples from -- >> i'm looking at the entire totality of what you're doing. i'm not cherry-picking numbers. what are the actual numbers in totality? >> well, those are, those are two sets of indictments. >> you're not working every, let me go on. how many prosecutions is your division initiated against hate crimes directed against the jewish community as opposed to those? christopher wray said --

so i guess my question would be are 60% of your religious based hate crime prosecutions been in attacks against jewish americans? >> our tree of life prosecution, -- >> i'm looking at the totality. i'm not interested in your cherry picking one case that you've pursued. i want to know what is the total amount have 60% of your prosecutions been directed against religious base hate crimes directed at jewish americans. >> i can, i can provide, i can provide countless examples. >> for example, i want, i want the total number have 50% of your prosecutions been against hate crimes directed at jewish americans. yes or no. >> i don't have the precise number but countless examples. >> the precise number will tell us whether you are being candid in, in the relationship between what you say and what you do.

another concern is that the civil rights divisions perceived resistance to supreme court decisions forbidding universities from discriminating against applicants based on their race. and the students for fair admissions case, you called this a dog whistle that could invite a lot of chaos and unnecessarily create hysteria among colleges and universities who may fear that the government may come down on them for their efforts to maintain diversity on their campuses unquote. well, once the supreme court spoke clearly on this issue, your division released an advisory to universities telling them how to violate the law by quote, linking students' applications to their race. is the administration bound to obey the law or is it not? >> yes, congressman. >> and how do you explain that memo? >> we follow and abide by the rulings of the united states supreme court. >> your memo speaks to that. i mean, can you at least see how such a memo could be viewed as open defiance to the authority of the supreme court and the rule of law?

>> we, we comply with the mandate of the supreme court , congressman. >> but you're not. finally, how do you see the separation of jurisdictions between local law enforcement agencies and federal law enforcement? what cases do you believe the federal government should defer to local law enforcement agencies? well, we collaborate and work closely with local and state law enforcement. the tragic killing of ahmaud arbery is one example. the state of georgia did not have a hate crimes law on the books at the time that mister ahmaud arbery was tragically killed. our federal hate crime prosecution here was important. but every day we work to collaborate and coordinate. >> how often do you defer to local law? >> often. we have limited resources and rely on local and state governments to do their part in enforcing the law. thank you. >> thank you, gentlemen from

california, recognize the general lady from texas ms. escobar. >> thank you, mister chairman, assistant attorney general clark. thank you so much for being here today. your testimony and your service to our country. i want to especially recognize the civil rights division for the incredible work you all did prosecuting the self-proclaimed white nationalist who drove to my community in august 2019 to massacre latinos and anyone who looked like an immigrant per his confession. it was a very challenging trial for the community to relive the trauma and that horrific event. but i'm very grateful to the department for the work that you all did to ensure that my community received justice and all the victims and families receive justice. so i want to thank you for that. i have raised the issue before with your department about my

state, the state of texas and governor greg abbott. and the way that he is engaging specifically in border communities like my own and operation lone star is, is has been a project of governor abbott's that has essentially created some chaos in border communities like my own, high speed chases by dps that result in fatalities and significant property damage. but there are other violations as well. racial profiling, due process violations, unlawful detention of migrants without charges being filed and i could go on and on with the impact that operation lone star has had in texas. ms. clark, will you commit to a review of whether federal funding sources are being used

to support operation lone star and whether such support violates the civil rights act? >> thank you, congresswoman. we continue to monitor um operation lone star and um yes, we, we, we, we can commit to doing that. >> wonderful. thank you. we have -- there is a growing group of legislators, policymakers, not just in texas, but outside of texas sounding the alarm. so i really appreciate that. if advocates, members of the public or migrants themselves perceive a federal civil rights violation inflicted by a texas public official under operation lone star or otherwise to whom at the department of justice should they report this to? >> we encourage the public to bring forward complaints about law enforcement misconduct to the fbi. the civil rights division works closely with the fbi to investigate allegations of

misconduct. >> thank you so much. i also want to sound the alarm about a new bill that was passed by the texas state legislature. sb4, and sb4 is essentially texas effort to usurp federal immigration law with the, the creation of a new state level in -- immigration law. i believe, and many civil rights advocates believe this will increase the racial profiling that is happening in texas and that it is unconstitutional. are you aware of sb 4 in texas? >> very generally, and i'm happy to take a closer look. >> thank you. i think it's going to be really important. i'm not sure if the government, governor has signed it yet. we have urged the governor not

to sign it. it is pretty brazenly and blatantly unconstitutional. but if he does sign it, if there is such, maybe not referring to this law in particular. but if there were such a law that usurped federal immigration law, what could we expect from the department? >> when we identify violations of the law, we prosecute just by way of example, congresswoman , earlier this year, we indicted a member of the border patrol for engaging in misconduct. so we take seriously these allegations and where the law authorizes. we will prosecute. >> in terms of a state though, if a state legislature and a governor pass and sign a law that is blatantly unconstitutional what would the , department do? >> if appropriate, we could file suit, challenging the constitutionality of the law.

but here, we would have to, we would have to look more, more closely and carefully. >> ok. i welcome that review and that scrutiny. thank you so much, mister chairman. i yield back. >> i think the gentlelady from texas, and out recognize the gentleman from north carolina. mr. bishop. >> ms. clark in the biden v. excuse me, the missouri v biden case in the district court. the court explained quote, if the allegations made by the plaintiffs are true, the present case arguably involves the most massive attack on free speech in united states history. close quote. the court went on to find that the plaintiffs were reasonably likely to succeed on the merits at trial entered a preliminary injunction. the fifth circuit has affirmed supreme court has taken jurisdiction of the case. of course, that's all civil litigation. is any criminal investigation or prosecution of the persons responsible for that activity in the fbi, cisa and at the white

house and their co-conspirators underway in the civil rights division? >> congressman, i'm not familiar with this litigation but happy to bring your question back. >> thank you. let me make sure i am understanding that. you are not aware of the missouri v biden litigation that is currently being taken up by the united states supreme court. is that correct? >> unfortunately, i am not, congressman. >> assuming not, assuming that you're not aware of that. what reason would there be that the civil rights division of the justice department's leader is unaware of what a united states district court has described as the most massive attack on free speech in the united states history? >> if you could share more of the facts that could be helpful, congressman. >> otherwise you're just, you

just don't know. is that correct? >> that's correct. unfortunately, this does not appear to be a case that i'm familiar with. >> good enough. i'm gonna yield the balance of my time to the chairman. >> so i find that to be astounding. i do want to follow up on the line of question with the gentleman from california with respect to the face act implementation. because, ms. clark, you, you dismissed saying, well, i can't. whose time are we doing now? >> it's my time. >> i just wanted to point out that there have been at least 35 cases of the face act being applied to pro-life groups and, or churches or, you know, pro-life people that are anti abortion in your tenure, not even counting 2021. that's the data from 2022 and 2023 versus the four that we can point to, the one that you point

to in january. so the point gentleman in california, i would just ask you, you're in your possession of your hands. you had a foia request that was responded to from a left leaning group, the center for investigative reporting. we've been asking for a copy of that foia about the prosecution levels and the numbers from your office for a long time, i think for almost a year and we've not been responded to. so, will you commit to sharing that foia request and all of the data of face act prosecutions specifically under your watch. and generally? >> i can absolutely bring this back to the division's foia officials and ensure that you receive a timely response. please know that the division is committed to evenhanded enforcement of the -- >> even under your watch, it's at least 35 to 1 or two that is not evenhanded. that's far from evenhanded and importantly, mark halk who was targeted, had a raid of his home prosecuted under this was acquitted by a jury. have you apologized to him on behalf of the department of justice for that grave violation of his civil rights?

having his family have to watch him being raided at his home and then he's acquitted by a federal jury? have you apologized to him? well, we follow the facts and apply the law. that is our job and we welcome opportunities to engage with other pro-life groups that may be experiencing threats or the -- the answer to that is no. >> i thank the gentleman for yielding. i'm -- i'm like, i think every member, at least on this side, but i would think every member, anyone watching it just astounded that you are not familiar. the assistant attorney general for the division of civil rights at the justice department is not familiar with a huge case, missouri v. biden, where in that case, i think it was six different federal agencies were found to be guilty of violating the first amendment liberties of americans. hhs, and iad, fbi, doj, dhs, even the white house itself. and you are not familiar with. that is truly and frankly, i don't know what i think that's why the gentleman had time to

yield back because he didn't know what, i don't know what we say. that -- that is, it's in front of the supreme court and the head of civil rights division doesn't know is that is, if that doesn't in and of itself show that this justice department is political in doing things for political reasons. i do not know what does. i yield back and i appreciate the gentleman' is question. i think the gentleman from north carolina and ohio. the lady from vermont is now recognized. >> thank you, mr. chair, assistant attorney general clark. thanks so much for being here. and i wanted to start by just personally thanking the justice department for its work regarding the massacre at the tree of life synagogue in pittsburgh on october 27th, 2018. as you know, this heinous act of anti-semitism took the lives of 11 jewish americans. and i just want to thank the doj for all the work there. and it's clear that anti semitism and islamophobia is um

tragically on the rise both around the globe and here in our own country. and my home state of vermont is not immune. in burlington over thanksgiving , three young palestinian americans were shot as they simply walked on the street. hashem, kenan, and tassin spoke a mix of arabic and english and two wore traditional kafi. and although the investigation will determine whether this horrible crime will meet the legal definition of a hate crime, we know and i say we all vermonters know that this was a hateful act. now, this act of violence is, is part of a disturbing and frightening trend. and all of us need to remember that we have a part to play in standing with and speaking out against our -- violence against our muslim neighbors. and recently attorney general

garland stated that the fbi and atf are investigating the incident, including whether the attack constituted a hate crime. now, i know that you cannot discuss specifics of the work, but i'm wondering if you can please, let us know that the civil rights division work as it relates to the investigation of hate crimes. i think vermonters would love to know? >> the justice department in particular, the fbi and atf are currently working with local and state law enforcement and looking into this very, very tragic matter. we have been incredibly vigilant since the october 7 tragedy that has unfolded in israel and in the middle east. anti semitic violence, islamophobic violence and the targeting of communities perceived to be jewish or muslim

has no place in our society. we will take seriously investigations of threats of violence, acts of violence and, and prosecute where appropriate . >> and so have you seen an increase in actual or potential anti-semitic or islamophobic incidents since october 7th? >> we have engaged with many organizations, jewish organizations, muslim organizations, all of whom are reporting that they themselves are seeing an uptick. we rely on the fbi data which comes out annually, but everything that we are hearing from groups makes clear that this is a moment that requires vigilance on the part of the federal government. and so that is what we are doing. >> and a follow-up, what steps specifically is the civil rights division doing to keep jewish americans and arab americans, muslim americans safe in their, and their communities?

i know that there is just growing anxiety and fear about basic safety and security. i'm wondering if yould jus give us a few more details about what what the department can do and is doing. >> we're using the law, the tools that congress gave us laws like the matthew shepard and james bird hate crimes prevention act to hold perpetrators accountable. we realize we can't prosecute our way out of the crisis. and so we've also worked to institute programs like united against hate where every single us attorney's office across the country, all 94 have instituted programs bringing together local , state, federal law enforcement, community groups and faith leaders to ensure that folks know how to investigate and report hate incidents and hate crimes.

this is an all hands on deck moment. we stand for and behind all communities are being attacked by hate. >> what measures are being taken -- another topic -- what measures are being taken to combat discriminatory practices in gender care? >> live seen a number of states to have adopted bands and

restrictions on gender affirming care. we are very wary of the fact that i just just noted themselves in a ruling that discrimination against transgender people is discrimination based on sex so we bought -- we brought lawsuits against some of the discrimination discriminating access against transgender youth. >> thank you. i yield back. >> i now recognize -- >> are you sure you do not know anything about that case misery -- about that case missouri v. --? did you read the >> absolutely.

absolutely, chairman. >> let me go a different route then. does politics drive the decision at the justice department today? >> politics has no place in the civil rights division. >> three months ago, the new mexico governor launched a bill to stop residents from carrying a gun. what does the doj do in regards to that unconstitutional action in new mexico? >> i am aware of the matter that you are referring to. gun control is not a core issue . >> like the first amendment, it is pretty important. >> these are very important issues to the department.

>> what happened when the governor imposed this unconstitutional ban? >> the criminal division. >> you don't know what the doj did in response to the governor of new mexico's action. this thing was unconstitutional, unenforceable and will not help to curb gun violence. the attorney general who is eight democrat said that you will not have any effect on public safety. you guys at doj do not know a thing? is that what you're telling me? >> politics has no place in the work of the justice department, chairman. >> are you aware of anything that the justice department did to the unconstitutional order in new mexico.

>> we enforce the laws that congress gave us, chairman. >> i will bring that question back. >> they didn't. they did not put a statement of interest. they did not do a darn thing. it shows how political you are when taxes -- texas passed a pro-life bill, a days later, the department of justice announces the investigation. this is what amazes me, it actually passed the state senate and you guys are in there, contesting that eight days later. you have something in new mexico which is a direct assault on the second amendment. the governor does a and the department of justice does

nothing. >> the civil rights division is deeply committed to enforcing the laws that this body gave us. and committed to standing up to the civil rights of all americans, chairman. >> you can say it, based on some of your other answers, not knowing the first thing about missouri beat biden and about if anything was actually don relative to the governor's unconstitutional order regarding new mexico citizens, residents, and americans second amendment rights, this is why we are so darn concerned. i have 38 seconds and i would be happy to yield to the gentleman from arizona. >> i want to ask this. you answered the previous question saying that if a governor did something -- he did not like the texas law regarding immigration. you send i you guys, the civil

rights division, we can file a lawsuit, the lawsuit was filed in the case that the chairman was talking about. you did not participate in that. do you disregard second amendment rights? if the government violates those laws, is that not important enough for the civil rights division to get involved in? >> i understand that the new mexico order was enjoined within two days of entry. i do want to make clear that gun control is not an area that the civil rights division under any administration has historically worked much around. it is important, the second amendment is an important part of our constitution, congressman. >> a quick follow-up, the civil rights division will not protect civil rights? >> we enforce the laws that congress gave us. weighing in on second amendment and gun control issues across

any administration has never been a core aspect of the division's work. >> i will recognize ms. bush. >> thank you. we are here today to continue our efforts to hold our government to its highest ideals, including equal justice under law. assistant attorney general clark, thank you for being here and thank you for your career of public service in support of civil rights for all people. i was excited to see your nomination and confirmation to this role. i do believe that you are doing your best to advance the calls of justice inside the government. as an activist to congress, i just want to say, thank you for your work. as i have said before, many

times i think that the department can do more to advance civil rights in the rule of law. these problems are systemwide and they predate your time as a justice. i want to ask assistant attorney general clark, the civil rights division handles cases that involve law enforcement misconduct and the violation of federal rights, is that correct? >> that is correct. >> i strongly believe the actions of georgia law enforcement killing -- in opposition to the atlanta police training center known as cop city. conduct resulting in the violation of federal rights and i urge the civil rights division to open an investigation. what is happening in atlanta can have been anywhere in the current. we need the doj to do your part in preventing that from

happening. another issue i want to follow up on is the enforcement of title vi in the antidiscrimination provisions of the safe streets act. the department has an obligation to ensure that the recipients do not engage in discrimination like what we have seen in our district which includes ferguson, missouri. following the police killing of michael brown. i was excited to see the changes that were announced in june of 2022 and we have had that conversation. i have yet to see any meaningful progress by the department implementing any of them. do you have any updates from the committee about the department implementation of these commitments? >> if i can flag one area, it would be environmental justice where we have been making historic accomplishments in

using title vi to stand up for communities that are affected by environmental justice problems. these are places where we have, for the very first time, used title vi to address issues that affect black and latino communities when it comes to environmental justice. >> one final issue i want to raise with you is conditions in local whole prisons and jails. another incarcerated person has died this weekend. i know your team has investigated conditions in the jails in south carolina and elsewhere and i would love to speak with you more about this issue. we must not forget the humanity of people who are incarcerated.

in my closing, let me just say this, we cannot prosecute our way to justice. the civil rights department is the crown jewel of the department, for a good reason. there are people in the division i want to use the law to stop discrimination instead of enabling it. to stop police brutality and to stop the attack on the lgbtq communities instead of enabling it. that is the work of the civil rights division. that is what you have done and what you will continue to do. we will not let those efforts succeed. assistant attorney general clark, thank you for being here and thank you for the work that you do. in support of equality and justice for all, i am your ally in this work. i want to partner with you on these shared priorities. with the few seconds that i

have left, if there is anything else that you would like to speak to or clear up that has been said. >> thank you, congresswoman. people do not abandon their constitutional rights at the jail house door. it is an important priority for us. you noted our recent investigation opening up in south carolina. we are investigating prison conditions in georgia. where we are looking at juvenile detention facilities. that is such an important area of enforcement for these civil rights division. >> mr. chairman i would like to yield to you such time as you may. >> i appreciate that.

in respect to the question you just talked about in terms of jails and how people are treated in incarceration, have you done any investigation into how those who are charged with crimes related to gender six are treated in the jails in washington, d.c.? >> there was one matter that was referred to us by the district court and we did respond. >> have you conducted an investigation into the treatment in those facilities? >> we have investigations open across the country. we don't have one open in the district of columbia. >> i yield back to mr. fry. >> thank you. before we continue our conversation about new mexico, i want to provide context regarding the face act and the prosecution disparity that looks like it is 16-1. pro-life

people are prosecuted 16 times to one. since the case was leaked, there has been over 100 attacks on pro-life centers and birthing centers and churches. that makes the numbers even more despaired and it creates a perception of bias here. you said in your opening that we protect the civil rights of every american. your job is to enforce the constitution. evenhanded enforcement in applying the law, those are things i you said. again, in the texas question that you were given, because the representative on the other side was upset because the legislature and the governor enacted a law that she felt was

unconstitutional in regards to immigration law. she said, what can you do? we can file suit. the reason that i bring that up, is because when i asked you and when the chairman was asking you, did you file a statement of interest with the governor of new mexico's abridgment of the second amendment rights of new mexicans in san bernardino county, you cannot carry a handgun outside of your home. you said that we enforce the laws that congress passes and enacts. i want to ask you, after i heard that, if texas law is dealing with border security issues and you said that we can file a lawsuit, is congress

enacting a law that allows you to investigate border security issues? do we know, congressman. congress is not given the civil rights division clear authority or direction to file civil suits regarding possession of firearms. >> you told us that you could file a lawsuit vis-@-vis for the state trying to enforce its border because they are being overrun. are you telling me that you find some statutory authority for that? >> only if there is a violation of a federal law that congress has put on the books that the congress is tasked with enforcing. >> in this particular instance, you are telling me when the second amendment is being directly violated in such a way that you are right, it was

immediately put in place because a private action was brought. you will never waiting to it. not just your division, but nobody from doj weight into it. i find that absolutely astonishing. before i run out of time, i'm sorry to take up all this time, for the record, the document and article saying that the cop will not be charged, the prosecutor says when it discloses that the individual shot at the police four times before fire was returned. >> without objection. >> i yield back. >> thank you to the gentleman from arizona. >> thank you, mr. acting chair. madame assistant attorney general, you received some questions about conditions in the d.c. jail which we have

heard from our colleagues on the right. isn't it true that the d.c. jail had deplorable conditions for decades before january of 2021? >> i cannot speak to formal findings. i can say with more resources, we could certainly do more. we want jails and prisons that comply with the constitution and that comply with the mandate of the civil rights of institutionalized persons act. >> i would like to ask unanimously consent to enter a time magazine article. it began decades before defendants started raising concerns. >> no objection. thank you. >> i worked on those issues when it was a minority population in that jail and the

concerns had been raised for quite some time. in the wake of the 2020 election we have seen a surge of lawsuits and other actions to challenge election results without evidence of fraud or misconduct. they are fueled by the lives of the former president and other election deniers. these are not without cost, they undermine confidence in our elections without grounds and they have cost taxpayers millions of dollars in overtime, legal fees and we have also seen a rise in the attacks and threats against election officials. this is so in pennsylvania where i live and represent. which is a perennial battleground stage. the counties i represent have been subject to dozens of groundless election challenges in recent years.

including following the recent municipal election. what can the department of justice do to help states and localities to address these attacks on our election systems and what guidance can be provided? >> there has been a threats task force that has been launched which includes representation from across the department including criminal divisions. threats and violence, acts of violence have no place in political discourse. that task force is open to hear from people who want to bring forth complaints. >> thank you. we have had some conversation today about how the department of justice is helping our cities. to fight crime and provide lawful policing. i'm thankful for the grants that my jurisdictions i recently received. can you talk about some of the

things i your department is doing to help our communities implement 21st-century policing practices in a way that keeps everyone safe? >> thank you for the question, we work on a range of issues. we work cooperatively with law enforcement to make sure they can provide language access to communities that are limited english proficient. we take seriously our mission to address misconduct when it arises. there were a number of pattern and practice investigations that had been opened in cities such as memphis, louisville, the louisiana state police, phoenix, and more. these represent a small number of the 18,000 law enforcement agencies across our country but they are important investigations because we want public safety. we want policing that is bias free.

and that meets the standards of the constitution. i engage with organizations such as the international association of chiefs of police. training and grantmaking are also important ways in which the department is working to support law enforcement. >> i know that is true for many of the conversations with smaller police departments that are searching funding and resources to help them gain accreditation so their officers are well-trained and able to handle whatever is thrown at them. there are a couple things i want to correct for the record. there have been mischaracterizations of statistics. one of them was suggesting that there has been a disproportionate number of these pattern and practice investigations started under your leadership. that is in contrast to the prior administration having to

eliminate pattern and practice decrees. i wanted to mention that. there is an attempt to contrast the number of prosecutions that have occurred since the base act was passed in 1994. it is really important to note that it was passed in response to murders and physical attacks on abortion care providers. it is not surprising that there've been more prosecutions that have taken place in respect to people physically attacking and murdering abortion care providers. i commend the fact that you are evenhandedly applying that, when anyone, for whatever reason, provides and takes action against someone who is providing reproductive health care. thank you, i yield back. >> i recommend the gentleman from california. >> i yield to the chair.

>> thanks, mr. kyle. >> thank you for yielding. ms. clark, who is ava at all? >> that is not a name that i am familiar with. >> i will familiarize you with her. she is a pro-life advocate who survived a communist concentration camp after world war ii who you are charged under the base act for praying and singing in front of an abortion clinic. is that the best use of the justice department time and energy? >> as noted, the face act has been a law that this body passed in response to efforts to obstruct access to reproductive health clinics, threats of violence, threats follow the facts and we apply them without fear or favor.

>> really? i think we have heard a lot of that today about how if you are pro-life, you get the full treatment. ask this 87-year-old concentration camp survivor. if you're on the other side, it is a different issue in spite of what you said that you apply it equally across the board. how about your decision to file a lawsuit against spacex? can you talk to me about that? >> yes, chairman. >> did elon musk purchasing twitter have to do anything to do with the decision to file that lawsuit? >> the investigation into spacex was open during the last administration. we file the administrative

action with an important law that is passed by this body with bipartisan support and signed into law by president reagan. in this case, we allege that the company is not compliant with the antidiscrimination provisions of the immigration and nationality act. this is a law that has been -- here they are discriminating against people that have received refugee and asylum status by our federal courts. >> they are discriminating against refugee and asylum seekers. >> no, chairman. against people that i received refugee status and asylum status by the federal courts and enjoy equal standing under federal law to u.s. citizens and naturalized citizens. the law requires equal treatment of these individuals. >> you are saying that spacex did not hire enough refugees or

people who have been granted asylum? is that what you are asserting in the lawsuit? >> they discourage those people from applying for any job if it is a custodial position, office clerk, someone that works in a kitchen facility, all the way up through engineer. >> i want to cut to the chase, you are suing spacex because they hired too many americans, too many citizens? not enough people that are refugees or people who have granted asylum? this investigation started three years ago. yet you bring the lawsuit after he purchases twitter, now x. >> we apply the laws that this body gave us without fear or favor.

>> his association is that they are dealing with national security type information and that is why he posted this before you brought the lawsuit. they focus on hiring people that have a green card or are american citizens. you said that we need to go after spacex because they are not hiring enough americans and we have to charge an 87-year- old concentration camp survivor. by the way, we don't know anything about missouri v biden. where the governor of the state told american citizens you cannot exercise your second amendment rights. you are trying to tell us today, that the justice department is not political? i find it laughable that you are making that argument. anyone with common sense can see that you are definitely political. i yield back.

i think the gentleman for his yielded time. >> the chairman, i would like to ask consent to insert into the record a letter from mr. paul teller to attorney general garland. that is noting the significant spike in anti-somatic animalism and violence across the united states and asking the department of justice on education who have jurisdiction over these matters to ensure that they are following up on what is assigned by numerous groups across the country. i now recognize the lady from wyoming. >> the doj put out a statement for noncitizen borrowers under the equal credit opportunity act. i sent you a letter on november

6th and have yet to receive a response. the civil rights division enforces the equal credit opportunity act and you are quoted in the press release offered for this guidance that worries -- warns to not use immigration status for the ability to take out a loan. the equal credit opportunity act does not ask presley determine immigration status. this will dissuade financial institutions for considering all legally permitted factors regarding payment which could cause very severe damage to our financial institutions. it seems that your division is trying to go beyond the intent of congress and are using implied threats to further this administration's failed immigration policies that are making the situation of the southern border even worse. ms. park, what authority do you

have to instruct financial institutions on this matter? your statement admits that they do not consider the immigration status? >> thank you, congresswoman. as noted in the letter that we issued with the consumer financial bureau, it contemplates that a person's immigration status often in conjunction with other factors could be relevant to determining repayment prospects. >> considering the status is permitted by the law, what was the purpose of issuing this status? >> the law that congress requires where people have sought clarity. >> this administration's position that financial institutions are required to loan money to illegal aliens? when can i risk act -- expect a response to my? >> i will ensure that you will

receive a response. >> yes, we will work with the office of legislative affairs. >> have you been contacted about this statement? >> no, congresswoman. >> have you taken steps to ensure that these institutions are aware of what the law actually says? >> this document is intended to provide clarity. institutions have sought clarity and want to make sure that they are following the law. >> have you taken any actions for turning down illegal aliens for loans? what have you on the civil rights division taken? >> are partners, for example, recently took action against an institution that made discrimination based on

national origin. >> is that a pending case right now? >> it is a recent settlement secured at the civil rights division. we are insured to make sure that banks and lenders are not engaged in redlining. >> you're not trying to force them to loan to illegal aliens, to determine who might be entitled to a loan, is that correct? >> we want a healthy economy. >> with that, i yield my remaining time to the chair. >> when you were a private citizen in april of 2020, there was a protest in front of the texas state capitol building. there is a video that i am looking at right now. under my old office in front of rick perry.

they were chanting, fire felt cheap. you said that these people should be publicly identified, barred from treatment at any public hospital when they fall ill and denied coverage under their insurance. that is a tweet. earlier, i asked you about the statement of defunding police. you did not stand by it. you went around it. my question to you, as the head of the civil rights division, civil liberties of americans, you said that these people should be identified and barred from treated from any hospital for chanting fire of algae. does the lady stand by that statement? >> i believe that every american should have access to healthcare in our country. i don't know the context for

that statement. i imagine it was issued during the heat of the pandemic. chair, i sit before you with a commitment to ensuring that all americans are treated fairly and equally under the law. >> i will take that as a no to standing by that statement. similarly to the statement earlier in the hearing. with that, that concludes today's hearing, we thank you, ms. clark for appearing before the committee. without objection, this hearing is adjourned. you, ms. clark. you,

with that statement, this meeting is adjourned. [gavel] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2023] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [indistinct chatter]

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