For such a good Christian man, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has found being compassionate with a group of women and children difficult. Fortunately, a judge has been holding him accountable. When the attorney general (AG) tried to do an end run around U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan, the judge showed him no mercy.
It seems Sessions was in the process of sending an asylum-seeking woman and her daughter back to their home country, El Salvador, according to The Washington Post. In fact, the two were allegedly on their way to the airport in San Antonia. When the federal judge heard about it, he stepped in and threatened the AG with contempt.
(UPDATE: The plane was actually already in the air. The judge said “Turn that plane around!”)
Sessions did this even though the court was hearing the asylum-seekers appeal to the deportation order. Judge Sullivan chided the AG for his “outrageous” attempt:
‘This is pretty outrageous. That someone seeking justice in U.S. court is spirited away while her attorneys are arguing for justice for her? I’m not happy about this at all. This is not acceptable.’
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was suing on behalf of the woman known as “Carmen.” Until Sessions came into office, the Board of Immigration Appeals accepted domestic and gang violence as viable reasons to accept people seeking asylum, but the attorney general has tried to enforce his change.
Sessions said:
‘The mere fact that a country may have problems effectively policing certain crimes — such as domestic violence or gang violence — or that certain populations are more likely to be victims of crime, cannot itself establish an asylum claim.’
After the judge intervened, the ACLU and the Department of Justice (DOJ) came to a mutual agreement to delay deportation until the case in court was decided.
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
