Washington
In a three-page memo, Sessions directed each U.S. attorney to appoint a border security coordinator to oversee immigration prosecutions and to make immigration offenses — such as crossing the border illegally or harboring those who do so — “higher priorities.”
He told prosecutors to consider whether they could bring felony charges against those who had entered the United States illegally multiple times and to evaluate whether they could charge illegal immigrants with aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory two-year prison sentence.
The directive signals a more aggressive posture on immigration issues than the Obama administration had taken. Advocates and legal analysts said it raises troubling questions about the Justice Department’s intentions and its use of resources.
“Which prosecutors and agents does he want to divert from the growing threats like terrorism, cyber crime, the opioid and heroin trade, organized crime and cartel activity?” asked Jenny Durkan, who served as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington from 2009 to 2014. “The ‘surge’ philosophy always requires taking agents, money and prosecutors from other priorities. In fact, the cost of satisfying Washington will reduce the ability of every U.S. attorney to address the greatest threats in their communities.”
Sessions was scheduled to tout the changes in Nogales, Ariz., on Tuesday as he toured the U.S.-Mexico border crossing there.
He said illegal border crossings have declined significantly since Trump took office — dropping 40 percent from January to February and 72 percent in March. Such crossings, though, also have decreased in recent years, and some researchers say demographic and economic factors have more influence than border security on the volume.