The city of San Francisco filed a lawsuit against Attorney General Jeff Sessions alleging he rescinded civil rights guidelines for youth, immigrants, the poor, people of color and people with disabilities. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

April 5 (UPI) -- The city of San Francisco sued U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions Thursday, alleging he rescinded several civil rights guidelines for marginalized segments of the population.

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera's complaint claims Sessions unlawfully rescinded civil rights protections for youth, immigrants, the poor, people of color and people with disabilities.


It also argues Sessions failed to provide a meaningful explanation for the repeal, which is required under the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Department of Justice refused to disclose who was on a task force that selected the documents for repeal.

"The mission of the U.S. Department of Justice is 'to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans," Herrera said in a statement. "Under the leadership of Attorney General Sessions, the department has shown a shocking disregard for protecting the rights of marginalized communities, rolling back civil rights initiatives in a wide variety of areas. As Americans, we have an obligation to stand up and right that wrong."

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In December 2017, Sessions rescinded 25 U.S. Department of Justice guidance documents, claiming they were "unnecessary, inconsistent with existing law, or otherwise improper."

Among the 25 were six documents that provided guidance to government agencies on the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Immigration and Nationality Act and other federal laws.

Herrera's lawsuit seeks to have the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California void the DOJ's repeal and have the guidance documents reinstated.

The bipartisan U.S. Commission on Civil Rights issued a statement urging Sessions to reverse the decision to rescind "these recent, narrowly crafted, urgently applicable guidance documents."