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Sessions Announces 'Zero-Tolerance' Policy for Illegal Entry into US

by Masood Farivar

   U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Friday announced a
   "zero-tolerance" policy for illegal entry into the United States,
   instructing all federal prosecutors along the southern border to
   prioritize the prosecution of criminal immigration cases referred to by
   the Department of Homeland Security.

   In a memo released Friday, Sessions urged U.S. attorneys in the border
   states of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas "to adopt
   immediately a zero-tolerance policy for all offenses referred for
   prosecution" under laws that make it a crime to enter the United States
   without proper documents.

   "This zero-tolerance policy shall supersede any existing policies,"
   Sessions wrote. "If adopting such a policy requires additional
   resources, each office shall identify and request such additional
   resources."

   In making the announcement, Sessions cited Department of Homeland
   Security data released Thursday showing a 203 percent increase in
   illegal border crossings from March 2017 to March 2018 and a 37 percent
   increase from February to March of this year -- the largest
   month-to-month rise in seven years after a period when crossings had
   fallen off.

   "2017 was an aberration, with border apprehensions peaking between the
   November election and Trump's inauguration last January, then falling
   to near 50-year lows in March and April 2017," Migration Policy
   Institute Research Director Randy Capps explained. "This March,
   apprehensions increased to a level similar to March 2013, 2014 and 2016
   -- in keeping with the typical seasonal pattern of higher apprehensions
   during the spring and early summer, and lower apprehensions in the late
   summer, fall and winter."

   To Sessions, the new numbers are evidence of a "crisis" at the border.

   "The situation at our southwest border is unacceptable," he said in a
   statement. "Congress has failed to pass effective legislation that
   serves the national interest -- that closes dangerous loopholes and
   fully funds a wall along our southern border. As a result, a crisis has
   erupted at our southwest border that necessitates an escalated effort
   to prosecute those who choose to illegally cross our border."

   The announcement came a day after President Donald Trump said he would
   deploy 2,000 to 4,000 National Guard troops to secure the border.

   Trump said he would keep the troops there until a border wall was built
   to keep out illegal border crossers.

   But his administration is continuing to work with governors of the four
   border states on deals that would allow the guard to be deployed. The
   National Guard is a force of reserve soldiers under the auspices of the
   states.

   The new policy is the latest initiative Sessions has announced as part
   of what he's termed the "Trump era" in immigration enforcement.

   Last April, Sessions sent a memo to all federal prosecutors in the
   country, directing them to prioritize the prosecution of certain
   criminal immigration offenses.

   The department also deployed more than 100 immigration judges to
   detention facilities across the country, including along the southern
   border, taking them from other jurisdictions.

   This story was written by VOA's Masood Farivar'.