Though former President Trump signed an executive order ending separation of migrant families, the zero tolerance policy was never officially rescinded.
Colin KalmbacherJan 26th, 2021, 7:53 pm
The Department of Justice formally relegated the Trump-era “zero tolerance” policy for undocumented immigrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border to the dustbin of history on Tuesday, a move that sparked widespread praise from immigration advocates who cautioned it is just a first step in dismantling the separate and distinct family separation policy they reviled.
“As federal prosecutors, we are charged with seeking justice,” Acting Attorney General
Monty Wilkinson wrote in a memo rescinding the directive. “The exercise of this responsibility results in highly consequential determinations and requires considerable judgment.”
“I am rescinding effective immediately the policy directive entitled
On Tuesday, in a letter to all U.S. attorneys, President Joe Biden s acting attorney general, Monty Wilkinson, rescinded the Trump administration s zero tolerance program, which led to the separation of more than 3,000 migrant families.
Former President Donald Trump had ended the practice of separating migrant children from parents who were prosecuted in an executive order, but had not ended the zero tolerance program. That program allowed attorneys to prosecute anyone who crosses the border illegally, even for a misdemeanor like not having proper documents.
Wilkinson s letter was titled, Rescinding the Zero-Tolerance Policy for Offenses Under 8 USC 1235, in reference to the section of the criminal code for misdemeanor offenses for crossing the border without proper documentation. A policy requiring a prosecutor to charge every case referred for prosecution under 8 USC 1225 without regard for individual circumstances is inconsistent with our principles, Wilkinson said in the
The Tablet January 25, 2021
The Tablet Staff
WINDSOR TERRACE The Diocese of Brooklyn moved quickly to remove a deacon from a Queens church following his arrest on charges of attempting to have sex with a person he believed to be a minor.
The diocese immediately dismissed Rogelio Vega, 50, a deacon at St. Sebastian Church, Woodside, after he was arrested as part of a police sting operation on Jan. 22.
“We are horrified by the arrest and charges against Rogelio Vega,” diocese officials said in a statement.
“The Diocese of Brooklyn is committed to a Zero Tolerance Policy, as nothing is more important than the protection of children,” the statement continued.