Sessions defends citing Bible in border uproar

When Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a devout evangelical Christian, cited a passage from the Bible in his defense of the Trump administration's policy of prosecuting everyone who enters the country illegally, he was criticized not only by his usual political opponents but also by fellow Christians.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions (Photo: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons)

The criticism was fueled by heartbreaking images of children being separated from their parents at the border, a consequence of U.S. immigration law requiring that only adults be prosecuted for illegal entry, which means they are held separately from children. Adults were separated from children under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, but the number of incidents has increased since the initiation of a zero-tolerance policy in which all cases are referred to the Justice Department for prosecution.

In an interview Thursday with CBN News, Sessions defended his citation in a June 15 speech of Romans 13 in which the Apostle Paul urges Christians to obey government authorities.

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"I don't think it was an extreme position that I took," Sessions told CBN's David Brody. "I directed it not to say that religion requires these laws on immigration. I just simply said to my Christian friends, 'You know, the United States has laws and I believe that Paul was clear in Romans that we should try to follow the laws of government of which we are a part.'"

Among Sessions' critics were Christian Theological Seminary professor Rob Saler, who noted Lutherans in Nazi Germany used Romans 13 to justify their obedience to the government. Similarly, Messiah College professor John Fea argued Christians used the passage to support slavery before the Civil War.

And more than 600 members of Sessions' own United Methodist Church issued a formal complaint against him, charging his zero-tolerance policy may constitute child abuse, violating the church's Book of Discipline, and could lead to a church trial.

Sessions emphasized it is "moral, decent and just for a nation to have a lawful system of immigration."

"I'm not aware of a single nation in the world that doesn't have some sort of rules about who can enter and who cannot enter," he said. "I believe there is biblical support for that, too."

But he acknowledged the criticism stung, especially the rebukes of Christian brothers and sisters.

"It is painful," Sessions said. "I am pretty well resolved that we try to consider the concerns that people have if they're legitimate."

He said he understood that "our church people are really concerned about children – that's what I'm hearing."

"I feel it. I think there's a legitimate concern there and I'm pleased to work with the president to address those concerns," he said.

But he told Brody it's his duty at the nation's top law enforcement officer to uphold constitutional laws.

"I do have a responsibility to ensure that within my realm that the laws are faithfully carried out in our country. And if someone thinks the laws are wrong, then they should go to Congress," he said.

He said the intent certainly is not to separate families.

"What we intended was to make sure that adults who bring children into the country are charged with the crime that they have committed," he said.

He praised President Trump's executive order Wednesday ordering the attorney general to file a request with a federal court to modify a settlement agreement that bars families from staying together during criminal proceedings.

"We're saying, 'We are going to keep you together. We're going to do our best in every way possible to protect the family unit and give you a fair adjudication, a claim of asylum if you make it,' and then that is the way we will process these cases," he explained. "I think that's right and just."