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DOJ Inspector General Report Details How Trump and Allies Pushed to Separate Families

HeadlineJan 15, 2021

In immigration news, a damning new report by the Justice Department’s inspector general directly implicates President Trump in aggressively pushing for harsher, crueler immigration policies despite knowing they would lead to the separation of thousands of asylum-seeking families.

According to the report, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a 2018 meeting, “We need to take the children away,” and that there was tremendous pressure from Trump to prosecute more asylum seekers. The report also says Trump and senior officials were woefully unprepared to enforce the “zero tolerance” policy.

In response, ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt said, “The barbaric family separation practice was immoral and illegal. … This new report shows just how far the Trump administration was willing to go to destroy these families.”

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