Connecticut Forum

Lynch, Sessions to discuss immigration

Amid charged conversations on immigration nationally, former U.S. attorneys general Loretta Lynch and Jeff Sessions will debate the topic in March at The Bushnell in Hartford in the new season of the Connecticut Forum, organizers said.

HARTFORD – Amid charged conversations on immigration nationally, former U.S. attorneys general Loretta Lynch and Jeff Sessions will debate the topic in March at The Bushnell in Hartford in the new season of the Connecticut Forum, organizers said.

“It is a rare occurrence to have two former attorneys general on stage together,” said Doris Sugarman, chief executive officer of The Connecticut Forum. “We are proud to bring these panelists

and this important, timely conversation to Connecticut at a pivotal moment in our national, political dialogue.”

The Connecticut Forum announced the 2020 season amid news that the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement was planning to take thousands of undocumented immigrants into custody.

The full 2019-2020 season lineup includes late-night entertainer Seth Meyers, a panel on climate change and a “favorite authors” night featuring Colson Whitehead, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Underground Railroad.

Lynch, who served during the final years of the Obama administration, and Sessions, the first attorney general to serve under President Donald Trump, will appear March 19. Both former attorneys general found themselves enforcing immigration policies governed at times largely by presidential order.

During the latter end of the Obama’s administration, the president took efforts to ease deportation efforts for millions of immigrants, including deferring action on deportation of children brought into the country by their parents.

In stark contrast, Trump has taken a hard stance on immigration and has attempted to remove some of those deferments programs while focusing efforts on tracking down individuals not legally living in the United States, at times including families and children.

As attorney general, Sessions frequently was outspoken on immigration and critical of so-called sanctuary cities. Hartford and New Haven are sanctuary cities, which limit cooperation with the federal government on immigration enforcement.

Lynch was not outspoken on the topic of immigration as an attorney general. During her confirmation hearings, she told senators Obama’s executive actions to defer deportations for millions of immigration were lawful and reasonable, the Associated Press reported.

Sessions was fired by Trump in November. Lynch left the post at the end of Obama’s second term.

The season starts with Meyers on Sept. 20 and continues with a conversation on the climate crisis on Nov. 22, featuring biologist and conservation strategist Ayana Johnson and journalist David WallaceWells. The season ends on May 2 with Colson Whitehead, who will be joined by still-to-benamed authors.

Tickets to the Connecticut Forum go on sale starting Aug. 1. Season subscriptions can be purchased online through www.ctforum.org.

Nicholas Rondinone can be reached at nrondinone@ courant.com.