Sessions cites Bible to defend separating immigrant families

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Jeff Sessions is citing the Bible in defending the Trump administration’s policy of separating immigrant parents from their children after they enter the U.S. illegally.

Sessions was responding to criticism from the archbishop of Galveston-Houston. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo told the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that separating babies from their mothers was immoral.

Speaking Thursday in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Sessions said crossing the border illegally is a crime and the government shouldn’t be vilified for enforcing laws. He pointed to a verse in the Book of Romans on obeying the laws of government, saying, “God has ordained them for the purpose of order.”

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the administration would like to fix the “broken system,” but it’s up to Congress to change laws.