"You’ve got the sanctuary cities that refuse to tell homeland security that they’ve got somebody that’s committed a serious crime so they can be deported," Sessions stated on Tuesday. "On the other side, we’ve got homeland security having standards or failing to follow up on serious offenses of people who should be deported."
Sessions’ remarks were prompted by cases in which illegal aliens have been released from custody after committing crimes because the Department of Homeland Security fails to authorize continued detention of suspects who are awaiting trial for serious offenses.
"This country has every right to deport persons who are here unlawfully — who violate our criminal laws… and they should be promptly departed," Sessions explained.
At Tuesday’s day-long hearings, Sessions frequently stated that one of his goals if confirmed as attorney general would be to improve cooperation between the US Department of Justice and local law enforcement.
Sessions noted that courts have ruled that enforcement of immigration laws is the federal government’s responsibility, but that local law enforcement has the right to detain people who have broken US laws, including crossing the US border illegally.
"No," Sessions said on Tuesday when asked whether he supported a Muslim registry. "It would raise serious Constitutional problems because the Constitution explicitly guarantees the right to free exercise of religion.”
"As I recall, later comments by President-elect Trump do not advocate for that registration," Sessions explained. "He [Trump] will have to speak for himself on his policies, but I don’t think that is accurate at this point."
Sessions added that Americans overwhelmingly honor constitutional guarantees of religious freedom, which includes Muslims, and that he personally believes that Muslims should not be treated differently.
