As the saga of the Trump administration’s decision to separate children from their families after crossing the southern U.S. border without documentation or authorization continues to unfold, they’re facing steep backlash from an array of interests which includes hundreds of members of the United Methodist Church, the faith claimed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions
They’ve signed onto a formal complaint against the attorney general lodged within their church. In their complaint, they separate what Sessions has done via the institution of the family separations into allegations of child abuse, immorality, racial discrimination, and dissemination of doctrines contrary to the standards of their church.
The Methodists who signed the letter include other points of contention with Sessions besides the family separations, also mentioning his targeting of African American interest groups like Black Lives Matter and his recent decision to cut out most gang and domestic violence considerations from those that push an asylum seeker’s application to approval.
The letter states:
‘While other individuals and areas of the federal government are implicated in each of these examples, Mr. Sessions – as a long-term United Methodist in a tremendously powerful, public position – is particularly accountable to us, his church.’
The letter notes that other faith leaders have already called out Sessions, with the administration facing criticism from the faith community for the family separations as a broad issue and specifics of the ordeal, like their usage of the Bible passage Romans 13 as an attempt to justify the policy — which is not, despite their claims to the contrary, mandated by law.
Trump and his associates have claimed the burden to be on Congress — and particularly, on Democrats — to do away with the family separations, but the policy is something they instituted.
Featured Image via Kevin Dietsch-Pool/ Getty Images
