Offended that Attorney General Jeff Sessions used sacred texts to justify border tactics that are “immoral, inhumane, and unnecessary,” on Friday, June 22, dozens of local and national faith delivered the letter denouncing the practice and his rationale.
Within the letter, interfaith signers urged Congress to reject bills that expanded child detention, like the Ryan compromise bill and its equivalent in the Senate, and encouraged compassionate legislative solutions that include long-term solutions and alternatives to detention which affirm each person’s God-given dignity.
Sessions’ ‘zero tolerance’ policy destroys families, punishes people fleeing violence and effectively turns those most vulnerable people who try to cross the border between ports of entry into criminals. Even with the executive action that reverses the cruel practice of separating children from their families, children and their caregivers will face another reality faith leaders find unacceptable – indefinite placement in detention facilities.
