President Donald Trump refused to back down from his immigration policy even amid public outcry until Wednesday, June 20. Now he has signed a new executive order that reverses child separation, CNN reported.
This came after outrage following videos that leaked on social media outlets (such as Facebook) of children being taken from their parents’ arms by government officials at the US-Mexico border. This had proven to be a very unpopular political move by the Trump administration, but Trump continued to enforce the “zero-tolerance” policy in his fight against illegal immigration until now.
What's in the new Trump executive order?
The order is 'to maintain family unity' and allows families to stay together for the most part. According to CNN, the order seeks more authority to detain families together until the end of proceedings. The process will begin immediately, "But there are no new special procedures for children already in custody, according to the Department of Health and Human Services."
The new policy will continue to prosecute adults who cross the US-Mexico border illegally in a federal court. Adults will not be turned over to the Justice Department, but instead, they will be able to stay with their children in detention under Department of Homeland Security.
States sought to overturn the immigration policy
Widespread outrage over President Trump’s stance on immigration had several states seeking legal action to end Trump’s policy. According to USA Today, on Tuesday, “Democratic attorneys general from 20 states and the District of Columbia demanded the administration end the policy of splitting up families.” A letter was written to Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, explaining that 20 states listed, will not deploy their military to the border.
Trump took to Twitter to comment on the negative responses to his immigration policy.
Democrats are the problem. They don’t care about crime and want illegal immigrants, no matter how bad they may be, to pour into and infest our Country, like MS-13. They can’t win on their terrible policies, so they view them as potential voters!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2018
Jeff Sessions misused the Bible to back Trump’s immigration policy
Attorney General Jeff Sessions used Bible’s Romans 13, to defend the president and the administration's new policy that separates children of illegal immigrants from their parents.
According to Newsweek, Sessions sparked international outrage when he cited Apostle Paul’s letter to Christians. Sessions stated, “Persons who violate the law of our nation are subject to prosecution. I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained the government for his purposes."
The passage Sessions quoted was taken out of context in order to mislead the public. According to Newsweek, throughout American history, the same passage was used to oppose the American Revolution, and to defend slavery. A Jesuit priest spoke to Newsweek, saying what Sessions did was “cherry picking.” Using a quote in the Bible to justify sin, for the passage is about observing civic rule, and how God’s law is greater than man’s law.
