DICK DURBIN CALLS FOR KIRSTJEN NIELSEN’S RESIGNATION

6:35 PM 07/31/2018
Molly Prince | Reporter

Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois demanded on Tuesday that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resign due to her involvement in President Donald Trump’s zero-tolerance immigration policy.

“I am today calling on the architect of this humanitarian disaster, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, to step down,” Durbin said during the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on family reunification efforts. “The family separation policy is more than a bureaucratic lapse in judgement, it is and was a cruel policy inconsistent with the bedrock values of this nation.”

Durbin reiterated his demand for resignation on Twitter following the hearing.

“In the name of the 711 lost children, the families that have been “deleted” by her agency, and common decency, I’m calling on Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, the architect of this humanitarian disaster, to step down,” Durbin said in a tweet.


Senator Dick Durbin
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@SenatorDurbin
In the name of the 711 lost children, the families that have been "deleted" by her agency, and common decency, I'm calling on Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, the architect of this humanitarian disaster, to step down.
7:43 AM - Jul 31, 2018

While Nielsen has taken heat for the policy of separating children from their parents after families illegally cross the U.S. border, it actually stems from the 1997 Flores settlement decree, which blocks children from detainment for more than 20 days.

President Donald Trump’s zero-tolerance immigration policy requires that all criminal aliens entering the country be apprehended rather than allowing family units to take advantage of the “Flores loophole” and be immediately released despite the unlawful border crossing.

http://dailycaller.com/2018/07/31/di...n-resignation/

Sessions doubles down on zero-tolerance policy in speech addressing the 'crisis' at the border

By Paulina Dedaj | Fox News

April 11, 2018
http://a57.foxnews.com/images.foxnew...=big-top-image
In April 21, 2017, file photo, Attorney General Jeff Sessions stands near a secondary border fence during a news conference at the U.S.-Mexican border next to the Brown Field Border Patrol Station in San Diego. (AP)

Attorney General Jeff Sessions doubled down on his “zero-tolerance” policy on Tuesday when he told a crowd of law enforcement officers near the border that the Department of Justice would be stepping up its efforts to “achieve zero-tolerance, zero releases and 100 percent prosecution.”

Speaking at the Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition Annual Spring Meeting with the Southwestern Border Sheriffs' Coalition, Sessions addressed 31 departments from Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California, all of which are responsible for patrolling areas within 25 miles of the U.S.–Mexico border.

“Officers on the border are facing ... the most significant challenges still," he said. "You have limited resources, you have manpower needs, bed space needs, equipment needs and you face a particularly violent threat every day. We have a crisis here. We know it, the president knows it and we’re determined to do something about it.”

Sessions' visit comes after the Justice Department announced it would be implementing a “zero-tolerance” policy on illegal border crossings.

Sessions slammed Congress on Friday for failing to pass “effective legislation that serves the national interest,” emphasizing such things as a lack of proper funding to build the wall along the southern border.

Sessions orders 'zero tolerance' policy at the border

He said that "the failure of Congress to move on the wall and other necessary steps is sending a message I am afraid that we are not resolute and it encourages more people to make the trip." Sessions added, “We’re going to step up our efforts to achieve zero-tolerance, zero releases and 100 percent prosecution.”

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES ‘ZERO-TOLERANCE’ POLICY ON ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSINGS

Illegal border crossing in March increased by 37 percent, resulting in more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States, which was triple the number of reported illegal border crossings in the same period last year.

Sessions spoke of a four-part plan to “take criminals off the street” by restoring the “rule of law” which he says will ultimately help to fix the immigration system.

The first measure includes the president’s order to send the National Guard to the border. President Donald Trump signed a proclamation last week asking the National Guard to send 2,000-4,000 troops to the border.

Will the National Guard strengthen US southern border?

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) discusses the Arizona Supreme Court's ruling that disallows "Dreamers" from receiving breaks on college tuition and the dispatching of the National Guard to the southern border.

The second measure will include processing a backlog of cases in the immigration courts, a take Sessions calls “a challenge.”

“We are bringing in as much as 100 immigration judges to the border areas so that we can process these cases more effectively,” the attorney general said. This includes judges who can use video conferencing to hear more cases. He is asking that judges complete at least 700 cases a year.

TRUMP’S NATIONAL GUARD REQUEST FOR US-MEXICO BORDER DRAWS RESPONSE FROM SURROUNDING STATES

The third policy will involve a “border security coordinator in each U.S. attorney’s office,” whose job will be to restore law in the immigration system in every state.

The final measure looks to completely end the “catch and release” policy.

“We are strong, prosperous and an orderly nation, and such a nation must have a lawful system of immigration,” Sessions said.

Sessions also took a shot at so-called sanctuary cities, saying that their “extreme open borders policy” is “blocking us from the ability to identify” those who enter their communities with drugs or the intent to commit other crimes.

“City-states and counties that knowingly, willfully and purposefully release criminal aliens back into their communities are sacrificing the lives and safety of American citizens, law enforcement officers in pursuit of an extreme open borders policy,” he said.

​http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/04/11/sessions-doubles-down-on-zero-tolerance-policy-in-speech-addressing-crisis-at-border.html

Excerpt:

Quote:

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"I have put in place a zero tolerance policy for illegal entry on our southwest border. If you cross the border unlawfully, then we will prosecute you. It's that simple."

Sessions added if adults try to smuggle a child with them across the border, the child might be separated from his or her parents.

"If you are smuggling a child, then we will prosecute you," Sessions said. "That child may be separated from you, as required by law."

Sessions referenced an increase in border crossings the past three months as reason to ramp up security efforts.

"These trends are clear, these trends must end," he said.

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Read Newsmax: AG Jeff Sessions: 'Zero Tolerance Policy' on Illegal Immigration | Newsmax.com

Surprised Durbin's not also going after Attorney General Jeff Sessions.