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He's advocated for Muslim Americans.
In 2011, Alexander Acosta appeared before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights hearing titled, “Protecting the Civil Rights of American Muslims.” He began by reading the statements of two Muslim Americans.
“I speak about these two individuals because I think their stories highlight principles that make our nation great,” Acosta said. “… Nashala’s story begins in Oklahoma at the start of the 2003 school year, when she told her sixth grade public school teacher that she was Muslim, and that as part of her faith, she wore a headscarf, or hijab. The teacher at that time did not object, and Nashala happily attended school for the next month. That changed on September 11, 2003, when her teacher asked her to remove her headscarf… I authorized the Department of Justice to intervene in Nashala’s case, a fact I remember with a bit of irony, because shortly after we intervened to protect Nashala’s liberties, the nation of France enacted legislation forbidding religious symbols and clothing in schools. France banned headscarves, kippahs, crosses and any other religious clothing or jewelry. Our government, by contrast, protected religious expression.”
(Read the rest of his testimony here.)