"Attorney General Jeff Sessions today notified all US Attorney’s Offices along the Southwest Border of a new ‘zero-tolerance policy’ for offenses under 8 U.S.C. § 1325(a), which prohibits both attempted illegal entry and illegal entry into the United States by an alien," the release said.
Those who prosecute people who illegally cross the US-Mexican border need to escalate their efforts, Sessions is quoted as saying in the release.
READ MORE: WATCH Hundreds of Mexican Migrants Proceed to US Border Despite Trump's Order
"To those who wish to challenge the Trump administration’s commitment to public safety, national security and the rule of law, I warn you: illegally entering this country will not be rewarded, but will instead be met with the full prosecutorial powers of the Department of Justice," Sessions added.
On Wednesday, organizers of the so-called caravan, a stream of Central American migrants crossing Mexico towards the US border, announced that they would end their journey in Mexico City because the size of the group made it too difficult to travel. However, according to some estimations about 200 people will make their journey to the US border.
Caravans have become an annual event aimed at grabbing the attention of the world community to the problems in their native countries.