Attorney General Jeff Sessions said on Thursday that the Trump administration “never really intended” to separate migrant children from their parents when he issued its…
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said on Thursday that the Trump administration “never really intended” to separate migrant children from their parents when he issued its aggressive crackdown on immigration prosecutions.
In an interview with CBN News released Thursday, Sessions said he had not anticipated the massive public backlash from the administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy that he announced in April.
“It hasn’t been good and the American people don’t like the idea that we are separating families,” Sessions told CBN’s David Brody. “We never really intended to do that. What we intended to do, was to make sure that adults who bring children into the country are charged with the crime they have committed.”
The policy sought to aggressively prosecute adults crossing the U. S.–Mexico border illegally. Between April and May, the practice led to more than 2,000 children being separated from their parents and sent to detention centers across the U. S.
When he announced the policy, Sessions noted it would likely deter migrants from trying to cross into the country.
A top Trump official at the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed Tuesday that the government expected the policy to act as a deterrent.
Sessions defended the policy last week, invoking the Bible to justify the administration’s immigration policies.
“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. “Orderly and lawful processes are good in themselves and protect the weak and lawful.”
Sessions told CBN News that he didn’t think his biblical position was “extreme,” according to the interview transcript.
“I directed it not to say that religion requires these laws on immigration,” Sessions said. “I just simply said to my Christian friends, you know the United States has laws and I believe that Paul was clear in Romans that we should try to follow the laws of government of which we are a part.”
President Trump gave into the bipartisan pressure and signed an executive order on Wednesday to end family separations.
“We’re going to have strong, very strong borders, but we’re going to keep the families together,” Trump said at the signing “I didn’t like the sight or the feeling of families being separated.”
