Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, said it was “unbiblical” to separate families attempting to enter the U.S. between ports of entry.
Dolan’s comments come after Attorney General Jeff Sessions pointed to a biblical passage in defense of the Trump administration’s new zero-tolerance policy to prosecute all illegal immigrants.
“I don’t think we should obey a law that goes against what God intends that you would take a baby, a child, from their mom,” Dolan said in an interview with CNN. “I mean, that’s just unjust. That’s unbiblical. That’s un-American. There could be no Bible passage that would justify that.”
Earlier this week, Sessions blamed church leaders for using the Bible to condemn the White House’s action and instead, cited the Bible to defend the policy.
“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 Thursday at a gathering in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
But Dolan pushed back on Sessions’ assessment and said the passage Sessions used “might not be the best.”
“St. Paul himself, who gave the quote that the attorney general used, he wouldn’t obey Roman law when it said it was mandatory to worship the emperor,” Dolan said. “He wouldn’t obey that law.”
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Friday that nearly 2,000 minors were separated from guardians at the border since the Trump administration started enforcing a zero-tolerance policy to prosecute all illegal immigrants.
DHS officials verified Friday that 1,995 minors were taken away from accompanying adults while attempting to enter the U.S. between ports of entry between April 19 and May 31.
Minors who are split from their families as a result of the zero-tolerance policy will be housed by Health and Human Services.
