Sessions denies intention to separate families after defending policy with Bible verse

'The American people don’t like the idea that we are separating families. We never really intended to do that,' the attorney general said

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaking at the Western Conservative Summit (AP)

Jeff Sessions said his Justice Department “never really intended” to separate migrant families at the US-Mexico border — just days after defending the “zero tolerance“ policy he created with a Bible verse.

The attorney general was speaking with the Christian Broadcasting Network when asked about the policy he announced in May, which was responsible for beginning the systematic separation of immigrant parents and children seeking asylum while crossing into the United States. According to Mr Sessions, the goal was never to actually separate families at the border.

“The American people don’t like the idea that we are separating families,” he said. “We never really intended to do that.”

Mr Sessions' most recent statement contradicts one he made just days ago, when he defended the separation of families by citing the Bible verse Romans 13 at a speech to law enforcement officers in Fort Wayne, Indiana. “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 attorney general said. ”Orderly and lawful processes are good in themselves. Consistent and fair application of the law is in itself a good and moral thing, and that protects the weak and protects the lawful.”

He was quickly ridiculed by religious leaders for citing a Bible verse to defend a policy many believe to be inhumane. Even Pope Francis came out against the US’s handling of its migrant crisis under the Trump administration, saying “populism” and “creating psychosis” doesn’t solve the broader problems surrounding immigration.

A two-year-old Honduran asylum seeker cries as her mother is searched and detained near the US-Mexico border on June 12, 2018 in McAllen, Texas ( (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)) ((Photo by John Moore/Getty Images))

Apart from his own contradictory statements, the policy was clear in its motive to separate any family unit entering the country through the southern border.

Under Sessions, the Justice Department began criminally prosecuting every single migrant entering the country, regardless of whether or not they were seeking asylum, and enforcing strict measures to separate children from their parents or legal guardians.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also used the Bible to defend the administration’s policies, telling reporters: “I can say that it is very biblical to enforce the law. That is actually repeated a number of times throughout the Bible.”

On Wednesday, Mr Trump buckled under pressure and signed an executive order allowing migrant families to stay together while undergoing asylum procedures.