Attorney General Jeff Sessions accused church leaders Thursday of using the Bible against him to make a case against the newly implemented zero-tolerance policy that mandates all illegal entrants be prosecuted and minors be separated from adults rather than held together in detention units.
Sessions threw the book at religious officials, saying the Bible supports the Trump administration’s decision to more intensely carry out immigration policies at the U.S.-Mexico border by not housing underage youths with parents or guardians.
“Illegal entry into the United States is a crime — as it should be. Persons who violate the law of our nation are subject to prosecution. I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained them for the purpose of order,” Sessions said at a gathering in Fort Wayne, Ind., where he spoke only on the administration’s immigration priorities.
Cardinal Daniel DiNardo on Wednesday told the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops the act of separating mothers from their children was “immoral.” Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley added it was “harmful” and “unjust.”
“Our policies that can result in short-term separation of families is not unusual or unjustified. American citizens that are jailed do not take their children to jail with them. And non-citizens who cross our borders unlawfully — between our ports of entry — with children are not an exception,” Sessions said. “They are the ones who broke the law; they are the ones who endangered their own children on their trek.”
The former Alabama senator added that only family units who are apprehended trying to illegally enter the country between ports of entry are prosecuted, not those who surrender at official ports of entry. Those who arrive at the ports will remain with their families as their requests for asylum are processed.
The zero-tolerance policy was put into effect 15 months into Sessions stint in the administration after apprehensions of illegal immigrants at the Southwest border topped 50,000 for a third consecutive month.
“The problem is that it became well-known that adults with children were not being prosecuted for unlawful entry [between ports of entry] and the numbers surged from 15,000 in 2013 to 75,000 four years later. That policy was a declaration of open borders for family units,” he said.
Sessions announced on May 7 any person who illegally entered the country would face legal consequences, not just those with criminal records.
The change in policy prompted Customs and Border Protection to begin referring all arrestees to the Justice Department for prosecution. In addition, DOJ would prosecute all offenders and not shift some to its “administrative closure” pile. First-time illegal entrants could face six-months jail time and repeat offenders could face two years.
While the results may take time to have an effect on illegal immigration levels, the Department of Homeland Security told the Washington Examiner on Monday it has already doubled the number of people being referred for prosecution.
Previously, 25 percent of illegal entrants were handed over compared to 50 to 60 percent over the past month, the Justice Department spokesman said.
But the new policy has not been met with open arms by Democrats and some religious leaders and because the DOJ does not expect the zero-tolerance policy to have a lowering effect on illegal immigration levels for a “few months,” the criticism is not expected to subside.
[Also read: Sarah Sanders loses patience over questions on family separation]
