It got heated in the White House press briefing room on Thursday as reporters took Sarah Sanders to task over her assertion that separating children from their mothers is “biblical”.
The Press Secretary was attempting to justify the Trump administration’s decision to prosecute parents who cross the US/Mexico border, leading to families being separated and held in detention facilities.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions had earlier invoked a passage from the Bible to justify the policy, which has been described by critics as “immoral”.
Sessions said: “Illegal entry into the United States is a crime—as it should be. Persons who violate the law of our nation are subject to prosecution.
“I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained them for the purpose of order.”
Sanders was asked about his comments during the press briefing.
The latest draft immigration measures drawn up by the Trump administration say children apprehended at the US border must not be separated from their parents while in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security, responding to reports of migrant children being torn from their parents at crossings.