Happy Birthday, countdown for Alexander Acosta, born in Miami, and the only son of Cuban immigrants. Following law school, Acosta served as a law clerk to Samuel Alito, then a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, from 1994 to 1995He served in several roles, including U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Dean of Florida International University's College of Law, and, most notably, as United States Secretary of Labor under President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2019. Acosta became widely known (and heavily criticized) for his handling of a 2008 plea deal with financier Jeffrey Epstein when he was a federal prosecutor in Miami. That agreement allowed Epstein — later charged with sex trafficking of minors — to avoid more serious federal charges in exchange for a plea to lesser state offenses and a relatively short jail term. Wikipedia
When Epstein was arrested again in 2019 on new sex trafficking allegations, public and political pressure mounted on Acosta over his role in the earlier deal. Critics said the plea deal was overly lenient and failed to inform or protect Epstein’s victims properly. Under that intense scrutiny, Acosta resigned as Secretary of Labor in July 2019 to avoid the controversy overshadowing the Department of Labor’s work. The Guardian
After leaving the cabinet, Acosta has kept a lower public profile. According to his Wikipedia entry, as of 2025, he has been serving on the board of directors of Newsmax and chairs its Audit Committee. Wikipedia
In September 2025, Acosta testified before the U.S. House Oversight Committee regarding the Epstein case, reflecting ongoing legislative interest in that investigation and his role in it. Good Morning America
Acosta’s public career peaked with his cabinet post, but he had to step down over fallout from the Epstein plea deal. Since then, he’s stayed active in private sector leadership and has been involved in congressional testimony related to the case. Wikipedia+1
This module immerses participants in a real-world system where harm is known, power is uneven, and resolution protects the powerful.
The aim is not consensus or debate, but moral recognition:
- How systems decide whose suffering is tolerable
- How silence is rewarded
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How faith, ethics, and justice diverge under pressure
Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed." — Isaiah 10:1–2