The Trump administration does "not want to separate parents from their children," but it's a tactic that must be used to close a gaping loophole in the law, Jeff Sessions wrote in a column for USA Today.
In the pursuit of a "lawful system of immigration," stopping the flow of illegal aliens taking advantage of the loophole - not prosecuting illegals who brought children with them illegally - was imperative, Sessions writes.
"These trends undermine the integrity of our system. That’s why the policy that is causing them must end, too," Sessions wrote. "Ending this blanket immunity means prosecuting adults for illegal entry whether they have children with them or not.
"And these children are well cared for. In fact, they get better care than a lot of American kids do. They are provided plenty of food, education in their language, health and dental care, and transported to their destination city — all at taxpayer expense," Sessions writes.
To wit: It's reportedly costing the government more to separate families than to keep the migrant families together.
"Separations are temporary and rare. The vast majority of children in custody came to this country by themselves," Sessions wrote.
"We do not want to separate parents from their children," Sessions writes. "What we want is a safe, lawful system of immigration that would end this question altogether. We want to build a wall to prevent illegal entry. Congress could make that happen quickly — and they should."
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