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Vanita Gupta

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This article is about the civil rights attorney. For the businesswoman, see Vinita Gupta.
Vanita Gupta
19th United States Associate Attorney General
In office
April 22, 2021 – February 2, 2024
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byRachel Brand
Succeeded byBenjamin C. Mizer (Acting)
United States Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights
Acting
October 20, 2014 – January 20, 2017
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byMolly Moran
Succeeded byThomas Wheeler
Personal details
Born (1974-11-15) November 15, 1974 (age 49)
Media, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseChinh Le
Children2
RelativesRajiv L. Gupta (father)
EducationYale University (BA)
New York University (JD)

Vanita Gupta (born November 15, 1974)[1] is an American attorney who served as United States Associate Attorney General from April 22, 2021, to February 2, 2024.[2] From 2014 to 2017, Gupta served as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division under President Barack Obama.[3]

A career civil rights attorney, Gupta served as deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, where she oversaw its national criminal justice reform efforts.[4] She has also served as Assistant Counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Throughout her career, she has drawn support from a wide range of liberal and conservative activists, as well as law enforcement groups, for building support for policing and criminal justice reform.[5][6] Before becoming Associate Attorney General, Gupta served as president and chief executive officer of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights from 2017 until her nomination as Associate Attorney General in 2021.[7][8]

Early life and education

Gupta was born in Media, Pennsylvania, to Indian immigrant parents.[9] She is the daughter of Muzaffarnagar-born businessman Rajiv L. Gupta and Kamla Varshney.[10] Her father is the chairman of Aptiv, an automotive parts company.

As a child, Gupta regularly moved with her family, and lived in the United Kingdom and France before returning to Philadelphia.[11] She graduated from Yale University in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude.[12] Gupta credits her experience at Yale with helping form her "passion for social activism".[13] She received a Juris Doctor in 2001 from the New York University School of Law, where she was an editor of the Review of Law & Social Change.[14]

Gupta's first case, while working for the Legal Defense Fund directly after law school, involved 40 African Americans and six white or Latino people who were romantic partners of African Americans in Tulia, Texas. They had been convicted by all-white juries of dealing drugs.[15] In almost every case, the only evidence was the testimony of an undercover agent, Tom Coleman.

Coleman did not use wiretaps or marked money, and records showed that he had "filed shoddy reports".[16] He had previous misdemeanor charges for stealing gasoline from a county pump and abuse of official capacity.[16] Gupta won the release of her clients in 2003, four years after they were jailed, then negotiated a $6 million settlement for them.[17] In 2004, she received the Reebok Human Rights Award.[18] As of 2018, Paramount is making a film, Tulia, about the case.[19]

ACLU

In 2007, after becoming a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, Gupta filed a lawsuit against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) about detention conditions for children whose parents were asylum seekers.[20] In August 2007, a landmark agreement was reached between ACLU and ICE, under which the conditions in the T. Don Hutto Residential Center improved and several children were released from the center.[20]

On August 6, 2009, the Department of Homeland Security announced intentions to improve the nation's immigration detention system, including ending family detention at the T. Don Hutto Residential Center.[21]

After her time as a staff attorney at the ACLU, Gupta served as its deputy legal director and director of its Center for Justice.[22] She has been credited with pioneering the ACLU's National Campaign to End Mass Incarceration.[23] She built bipartisan coalitions to advance pre-trial and sentencing reforms around the country.

Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

In 2017, Gupta became president and chief executive officer of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. In this role, she criticized the Trump administration for its response to the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally and accused then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions of trying to increase mass incarceration.[11]

In June 2020, Gupta testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the murder of George Floyd and the need to end police brutality in the United States.[24]

During her time at the organization, Gupta worked to combat harmful online misinformation, and "often sat shoulder-to-shoulder with tech leaders including Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg" to discuss content moderation strategies.[25] She took a leave from the organization in January 2021 and formally left once confirmed as Associate Attorney General in April 2022.[26]

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights (2014–2017)

Gupta speaks at a naturalization ceremony in 2016

In October 2014, President Barack Obama appointed Gupta as the United States Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights and head of the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division.[3]

Under Gupta's leadership, the Civil Rights Division worked to advance criminal justice reform and constitutional policing, including by investigating and working to reform police departments in Ferguson, Missouri;[27][28] Cleveland; Baltimore, and Chicago, among other cities. Gupta also oversaw a wide range of other enforcement efforts for the Division, including prosecuting hate crimes and human trafficking, promoting disability rights, protecting LGBT rights, and combating discrimination in education, employment, housing, lending and voting.[29][30]

Gupta's tenure was marked by several high-profile matters, including the investigations of the Ferguson, Baltimore, and Chicago police departments; the appeals of the Texas and North Carolina voter ID cases; the challenge to North Carolina's HB2 law and other LGBTQ2 rights litigation; enforcement of education, land use, hate crimes, and other statutes to combat religious discrimination; the issuance of statements of interest on bail and indigent defense reform, and letters to state and local court judges and administrators on the unlawful imposition of fines and fees in the criminal justice system; and the administration's report on solitary confinement.

In 2016, under Gupta's leadership, the division sued North Carolina, alleging that the state's implementation of House Bill 2 discriminated against transgender individuals in violation of federal civil rights laws.[31]

In August 2016, an investigation by Gupta's division concluded that the Baltimore Police Department engaged in a pattern or practice of conduct that violated the Constitution and federal statutory law, including unconstitutional stops, searches, arrests, excessive force, and enforcement strategies that produced an unjustified disparate impact on African-American residents.[32]

Associate Attorney General (2021–2024)

Nomination

On January 7, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Gupta to serve as the United States Associate Attorney General.[33][34] On March 9, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on her nomination.[35] Her nomination was supported by a broad range of civil rights and law enforcement groups,[36] as well as by prominent conservatives who had worked with her on criminal justice reform and voting rights.[37] Christine Todd Whitman, a Republican who served in the George W. Bush administration, endorsed her nomination.[38]

As a nominee, Gupta pledged to support strong antitrust enforcement by the DOJ if confirmed.[39]

Gupta faced strong opposition from Republicans who criticized her civil rights advocacy, particularly during the Trump administration. The Senate confirmed Gupta by a 51–49 vote on April 21 after Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski agreed to vote to confirm her.[40] Gupta pledged to sell her remaining $14.5 million stake in Avantor, a company her father chairs, amid questioning about a report that the company sold chemicals diverted by Mexican drug cartels to make heroin.[41]

Tenure

Gupta was sworn in on April 22, 2021.[42] On April 27, 2022, she announced the launch of the National Law Enforcement Knowledge Lab, an initiative to create a "free, voluntary one-stop-shop for information, guidance and training for law enforcement agencies."[43] The police-reform lab is part of a "push to boost best policing practices", The Hill reported.[44] After the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Gupta joined Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco in reviewing local law enforcement's response to the shooting.[45]

Gupta has said that the Justice Department intends to take a hard line on "killer acquisitions" as part of the Biden administration's effort to rein in monopolies.[46] She is reportedly responsible for deciding whether Jonathan Kanter, Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, will be permitted to participate in the United States v. Google LLC case.[47] In January 2023, it was reported that Kanter would be cleared to continue to work on DOJ cases involving Google.[48]

In December 2021, Gupta announced a lawsuit against the state of Texas following the state's redistricting process, which the DOJ determined was in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.[49]

In July 2023, Gupta announced a lawsuit against the state of Texas for installing floating barriers in the Rio Grande without federal authorization, saying the devices presented "threats to navigation and public safety and humanitarian concerns".[50]

On January 4, 2024, Gupta announced that the Justice Department was suing the state of Texas on the grounds that its enforcement of Senate Bill 4, allowing state and local police to arrest people suspected of entering the United States unlawfully, was unconstitutional. The complaint argued the state's enforcement of the bill was preempted by federal law.[51] On March 12, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court extended the pause on enforcing the bill pending further argument.[52] On March 19, the Court ruled that Texas may begin enforcing SB 4 while a lawsuit over its constitutionality remains pending before a federal appeals court.[53][54]

On January 31, 2024, it was reported that Gupta would leave her role as associate attorney general the following week.[55]

Criticism

Over 40 South Asian groups and civil rights organizations have drawn attention to Gupta's role in the University of Farmington scandal.[56][57] They have called on her to return $6 million in tuition money to South Asian students who they allege were racially targeted and tricked by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement into attending the fake university.[56][57] In the advocates' view, Gupta's lack of action is an example of the Biden administration's poor treatment of immigrants.[56][57]

Personal life and recognition

Gupta is married to Chinh Q. Le, Professor of Practice at the University of Virginia School of Law.[58] They have two sons.[59] In 2022, Gupta received the Charles R. Richey Equal Justice Award from George Washington University Law School.[60]

References

  1. ^ "United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Non-Judicial Nominees: Vanita Gupta" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  2. ^ "Office of the Associate Attorney General | Former Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. April 22, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Holder, Eric (October 14, 2014). "Attorney General Holder Announces Vanita Gupta to Serve as Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division". United States Department of Justice. Archived from the original on March 26, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  4. ^ "Biography of Vanita Gupta, The Huffington Post Blog Contributor". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  5. ^ Brookins, Freddie (June 9, 2016). "For Civil Rights Chief, Fighting For The Outsider Is Deeply Personal". NPR. Archived from the original on May 8, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
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  12. ^ "Vanita Gupta". ACLU.org. American Civil Liberties Union. Archived from the original on September 28, 2019. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
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  16. ^ a b Jim Yardley (August 29, 2002). "Texas Attorney General Opens An Inquiry Into '99 Drug Sweep". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 3, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
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  30. ^ "Helping Schools Ensure the Civil Rights of Transgender Students". United States Department of Justice. Office of Public Affairs, United States Department of Justice. May 13, 2016. Archived from the original on July 12, 2016. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  31. ^ "Justice Department Files Complaint Against the State of North Carolina to Stop Discrimination Against Transgender Individuals". United States Department of Justice. May 9, 2016. Archived from the original on September 25, 2022. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  32. ^ "Justice Department Announces Findings of Investigation into Baltimore Police Department". United States Department of Justice. August 10, 2016. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
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  36. ^ Matt Zapotosky (March 12, 2021). "Law enforcement groups dispute GOP senator's insinuation they were coerced to support Biden Justice Dept. nominee". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 15, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
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  38. ^ Brower, Greg; Whitman, Christine Todd. "We need a voting rights champion like Vanita Gupta at Justice, and fast: GOP ex-officials". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on September 25, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
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  41. ^ "Justice Nominee Promises She'll Divest Her Stake in Avantor". Bloomberg.com. March 18, 2021. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  42. ^ "Meet the Associate Attorney General". www.justice.gov. April 22, 2021. Archived from the original on July 22, 2017. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
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  44. ^ Vakil, Caroline (April 27, 2022). "DOJ launches online portal in push to boost best policing practices". The Hill. Archived from the original on April 27, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  45. ^ Taylor, Brittany (June 8, 2022). "'Nothing can undo the pain': US Attorney General announces team conducting critical incident review of mass shooting in Uvalde". Click2Houston. Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  46. ^ Feiner, Lauren (September 14, 2021). "DOJ official signals firm stance against 'killer acquisitions'". CNBC. Archived from the original on September 25, 2022. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  47. ^ Gupta, Vanita (August 14, 2013). "How to Really End Mass Incarceration". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 5, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  48. ^ Sisco, Josh (January 13, 2023). "DOJ antitrust chief cleared to oversee Google probes". POLITICO. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  49. ^ "Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta Delivers Remarks Announcing Lawsuit Against the State of Texas to Challenge Statewide Redistricting Plan". Department of Justice. December 6, 2021. Archived from the original on June 23, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  50. ^ "Office of Public Affairs | Justice Department Files Complaint Against the State of Texas for Illegally Placing Floating Buoy Barrier in the Rio Grande | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. July 24, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  51. ^ "Office of Public Affairs | Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against the State of Texas Regarding Unconstitutional SB 4 Immigration Law | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. January 3, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  52. ^ "Supreme Court extends pause on Texas law that would allow state police to arrest migrants". ABC7 New York. March 12, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  53. ^ Fritze, John (March 19, 2024). "Supreme Court allows Texas to begin enforcing controversial immigration law | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  54. ^ García, Uriel J. (March 19, 2024). "Supreme Court permits Texas police to arrest people who illegally cross the border as the SB 4 legal clash continues". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  55. ^ Johnson, Carrie (January 31, 2024). "As she leaves DOJ, associate AG recalls the cases that will 'stick with me forever'". NPR.
  56. ^ a b c Melillo, Gianna (August 9, 2022). "Civil rights groups call for probe into fake ICE university that detained students, seized millions of dollars". The Hill.
  57. ^ a b c Brink, Meghan (August 11, 2022). "Groups Want Investigation of Fake University Created by Federal Government". Inside Higher Education.
  58. ^ "Chinh Q. Le, Visiting Professor of Practice and Distinguished Fellow, Karsh Center for Law and Democracy". University of Virginia School of Law. October 30, 2024. Archived from the original on March 4, 2024. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  59. ^ "Vanita Gupta". The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  60. ^ "GW Law Honors Vanita Gupta with Charles R. Richey Equal Justice Award". George Washington University Law School. Archived from the original on April 23, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
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