A bipartisan group of former U.S. attorneys has penned an open letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, calling on him to end the Trump administrationâs highly controversial family separation policy at the border.
The 75 former U.S. attorneys condemned the zero tolerance policy, announced by Sessions in May, under which children are put into shelters while parents facing prosecution for illegally crossing the border into the United States are jailed.
âYour Zero Tolerance policy has resulted in the unnecessary trauma and suffering of innocent children,â they wrote in a letter published Monday on Medium.
âWe also emphasize that the Zero Tolerance policy is a radical departure from previous Justice Department policy, and that it is dangerous, expensive, and inconsistent with the values of the institution in which we served,â they continued.
It is time for you to announce that this policy was ill-conceived and that its consequences and cost are too drastic, too inhumane, and flatly inconsistent with the mission and values of the United States Department of Justice. 75 former U.S. attorneys to Attorney General Jeff Sessions
Although President Donald Trump and several members of his administration, including Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, have repeatedly claimed the family separation policy must be enforced, legal experts, including this group of attorneys, have challenged such an assertion.
âAs former U.S. Attorneys, we know that none of these consequencesâ â nor the policy itselfâ â âis required by law,â they wrote in their letter to Sessions. âRather, its implementation and its execution are taking place solely at your direction, and the unfolding tragedy falls squarely on your shoulders.â
They continued: âIt is time for you to announce that this policy was ill-conceived and that its consequences and cost are too drastic, too inhumane, and flatly inconsistent with the mission and values of the United States Department of Justice. It is time for you to end it.â
https://www.vox.com/2018/6/19/17478362/us-attorneys-jeff-sessions-family-separationA bipartisan group of former U.S. attorneys has pe... (