Sessions on Tuesday issued a memorandum to federal prosecutors that calls for prioritizing "criminal immigration enforcement".
The Trump administration is reportedly moving fast to assemble a deportation force to tackle illegal immigration.
Josh Breisblatt, a policy analyst at the American Immigration Council, said the attorney general's prosecution directive effectively makes illegal entry prosecutions a national priority, beyond the border states where the majority of cases are brought.
"I know he's going to battle for that and I believe he will get funding for the wall, I can't imagine Congress to deny him that", Sessions said on Fox News' "Hannity".
Jeff Sessions has a message for people seeking to cross the southern border into the U.S.: "This is the Trump era". "The lawlessness, the abdication of the duty to enforce our immigration laws, and the catch-and-release practices of old are over".
A memo released by the Justice Department said each USA attorney will now be required to appoint a border security coordinator.
Facebook Murder Suspect's Ex-Girlfriend Speaks Out
Almost five hours after the shooting, Williams said authorities hadn't had a verifiable report of a sighting of Stephens. Local law enforcement in conjunction with federal and state authorities are searching for Stephens.
For example, felony charges will be sought against someone who has two or more misdemeanor illegal entry convictions, or at least one illegal entry conviction and another aggravating factor such as a felony criminal history, gang affiliation, or prior removals from the U.S. He also urged prosecutors to consider charging those illegally in the country with felony identity theft and document fraud. Sessions defended the president's proposed border wall, reaffirming that it will help fight illegal immigration.
When delivering the speech, Sessions dropped that last bit about how Mexico is basically the origin of "filth".
"It is here, on this sliver of land, where we first take our stand against this filth", he added in the prepared remarks. He said 25 judges have already been placed at detention centers along the border and they plan to place 50 more by the end of this year and 75 the year following. According to Bureau of Justice Statistics, nearly half of all 2014 federal arrests were for immigration crimes, the overwhelming majority of which occurred at the border. So this is the way to go - if we follow through on this, we can secure this border.
Sessions also weighed in on reported infighting between chief strategist Steve Bannon, and Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, in carrying out Trump's agenda.
- Finally, and perhaps most importantly: I have directed that all 94 U.S. Attorneys Offices make the prosecution of assault on a federal law enforcement officer a top priority.
Comments