Press Release - Attorney General Jeff Sessions: "We Don't Want to Separate Parents From Kids"

"We do not want to separate parents from their children. What we want is a safe, lawful system of immigration that would end this question altogether."

We don't want to separate parents from kids

By Attorney General Jeff Sessions

USA Today

June 19, 2018

Some years ago, it was decided that law enforcement might arrest adults who crossed the border illegally by themselves, but anyone who brought a child with them would not be prosecuted, a form of immunity.

Word got out about this loophole with predictable results. The number of aliens illegally crossing with children between our ports of entry went from 14,000 to 75,000 — a fivefold increase — in just the past four years.

These trends undermine the integrity of our system. That's why the policy that is causing them must end, too.

...

We do not want to separate parents from their children. What we want is a safe, lawful system of immigration that would end this question altogether. We want to build a wall to prevent illegal entry. Congress could make that happen quickly — and they should.

Those who want to come to this country can and should apply legally. We have the most generous immigration laws in the world — but they should be enforced. At the Department of Justice, that is what we intend to do, and we ask Congress to be our partners in this effort.

Read the full op-ed here.