- Immigration
« May
7, 2018 - Attorney General
Sessions Announces "Zero Tolerance" Policy on Southwest Border
Attorney General Jeff Sessions
Remarks Discussing the Immigration Enforcement Actions of the Trump Administration
San Diego, CA
Monday, May 7, 2018
Thank you all for being here.
Thank you to Tom Homan. Tom, you have done outstanding work
leading
ICE. Thank you for your more than 30 years of service in law
enforcement. We are going to miss you.
Today we are here to send a message to the world: we are not going to
let this country be overwhelmed.
People are not going to caravan or otherwise stampede our border.
We need legality and integrity in the system.
That’s why the Department of Homeland Security is now referring 100
percent of illegal Southwest Border crossings to the Department of
Justice for prosecution. And the Department of Justice will take
up
those cases.
I have put in place a “zero tolerance” policy for illegal entry on our
Southwest border. If you cross this border unlawfully, then we
will
prosecute you. It’s that simple.
If you smuggle illegal aliens across our border, then we will prosecute
you.
If you are smuggling a child, then we will prosecute you and that child
will be separated from you as required by law.
If you make false statements to an immigration officer or file a
fraudulent asylum claim, that’s a felony.
If you help others to do so, that’s a felony, too. You’re going
to jail.
So if you’re going to come to this country, come here legally.
Don’t come here illegally.
In order to carry out these important new enforcement policies, I have
sent 35 prosecutors to the Southwest and moved 18 immigration judges to
the border. These are supervisory judges that don’t have existing
caseloads and will be able to function full time on moving these
cases. That will be about a 50 percent increase in the number of
immigration judges who will be handling the asylum claims.
These actions are necessary. And they are made even more
necessary by
the massive increases in illegal crossings in recent months. This
February saw 55 percent more border apprehensions than last
February.
This March saw triple the number from last March. April saw
triple the
number last April.
The trends are clear: this must end.
Eleven million people are already here illegally. That’s more
than the population of Portugal or the state of Georgia.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that those 11 million have
4.5 million children who are American citizens. Combined, that
group
would be our fifth-most populous state.
This situation has been many years in the making.
For decades, the American people have been pleading with our elected
representatives for a lawful system of immigration that serves the
national interest—a system we can be proud of.
That is not too much to ask. The American people are right and
just
and decent to ask for this. They are right to want a safe, secure
border and a government that knows who is here and who isn’t.
Donald Trump ran for office on that idea. I believe that is a big
reason why he won. He is on fire about this. This entire government
knows it.
The American people have a right to expect that the laws that their
representatives voted for are going to be carried out. Failure to
enforce our duly-enacted laws would be an affront to the American
people and a threat to our very system of self-government.
And these laws are the most generous immigration laws in the
world. We
accept 1.1 million lawful permanent residents every year—that’s more
than the population of Montana, every single year. These are the
highest numbers in the world.
I have no doubt that many of those crossing our border illegally are
leaving difficult situations. But we cannot take everyone on
Earth who
is in a difficult situation.
According to a Gallup poll from a few years ago, 150 million people
around the world want to immigrate to the United States. Gallup
says
that 37 percent of Liberians want to immigrate to the United
States.
One fifth of Cambodians want to move here. One-in-six Salvadorans
are
already in the United States—and another 19 percent tell Gallup they
want to come here.
It’s obvious that we cannot take everyone who wants to come here
without also hurting the interests of the citizens we are sworn to
serve and protect.
We have to have limits. And Congress has already set them.
And if you want to change our laws, then pass a bill in Congress.
Persuade your fellow citizens to your point of view.
Immigrants should ask to apply lawfully before they enter our
country.
Citizens of other countries don’t get to violate our laws or rewrite
them for us. People around the world have no right to demand entry in
violation of our sovereignty.
This is a great nation—the greatest in the history of the world.
It is
no surprise that people want to come here. But they must do so
properly. They must follow our laws—or not come here at all. Make
no
mistake, the objections, the lawsuits, the sanctuary jurisdictions are
often the product of a radical open border philosophy. They oppose all
enforcement.
And so this Department, under President Trump’s leadership, is
enforcing the law without exception. We will finally secure this
border so that we can give the American people safety and peace of
mind. That’s what the people deserve.
Thank you.
American Immigration Council
May 7,
2018
Increase in Border Prosecutions Will Separate More Families
Washington D.C. - Attorney General Jeff Sessions
and Immigrationand Customs Enforcement acting Director Thomas
Homan announced today that the Department of Justice and Department of
Homeland Security will be stepping up prosecutions of individuals along
the southern border—likely resulting in the criminalization of asylum
seekers and more family separation.The following is a statement from Beth Werlin, Executive Director of the American Immigration Council:
“Forcibly separating minor children from their parents is unconscionable. This policy could mean that even if a family is seeking asylum, parents can be criminally prosecuted, and their children will be taken away from them, to be placed in a shelter where they face deportation proceedings alone. The United States should instead honor its legacy of providing safety to those fleeing violence and its commitment to family unity.
"A policy that prosecutes parents and separates families to send a message to others is cruel and un-American.”
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For press inquiries contact Wendy Feliz