Sessions Calls for Rapid Progress on Border Wall

The wall at the U.S.-Mexican border needs to progress rapidly, as it will be the "final affirmation that illegality is over," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Wednesday.

"It will multiply many times the effectiveness of our border," Sessions told Fox News' "Happening Now" co-anchor Jenna Lee. "When you have fewer people enter, then you have fewer people to detain and fewer people to lock up, fewer people bringing in human beings, fewer people dealing in drugs. There are so many advantages to securing that border."

Already, people are hearing President Donald Trump's tough message on immigration, and illegal crossings are now at their lowest level in nearly two decades,  Sessions said, but still, too many are attempting the crossing every day.

"We have a lot to do," said Sessions, who will make another trip to the border this week. "We still have a number of people who are attempting to enter every day. We need to adjust to their tactics, but we're not there yet. We need to figure out how the cases are being handled, how the criminals are bringing in drugs, and 'coyotes' are illegally bringing in human beings."

Trump has presented a clear message that people need to enter the United States legally, said Sessions, and he is committed to that.

"We're going to back him up at the federal Department of Justice," Sessions said. "We're going to continue to put these numbers down and restore power lawfully."

However, if the United States does not follow through and back up what Trump has promised, "then I think we could see these numbers rise again. We do not want that to happen."

Sessions also Wednesday denied that "dreamers" are being targeted for deportation, after news reports concerning Juan Manuel Montes, who despite being twice granted deportation protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program being deported to Mexico in February.

'They are not being targeted," Sessions said. "I don't know why this individual was picked up.  Everybody in the country illegally is subject to being deported. People come here and they stay here a few years and somehow they think that they're not subject to being deported . . . we're the most generous nation in the world, but we have got to restore lawfulness to our system."

The priority, Sessions said, is the stop the flow of illegal people into the country, and then to prioritize people who break the law to be deported first.

"We've got so many of those right now, that's a full-time job," Sessions said. "We can't promise people who are here unlawfully that they won't be deported."

Meanwhile, Sessions said he has always believed in a merit-based system and is happy Trump has spoken about it.

"Canada has that kind of system," he said. "They give you more points if you come to Canada with education, more points if you already speak the language, more points if you are younger, more points if you have skills, and when you apply, you are evaluated and are provided the best opportunities to be successful in Canada, those are the ones that are accepted. That's always been our policy."

In other matters, there are several U.S. attorney positions that still need to be confirmed, but Sessions said the process is not running behind schedule.

"U.S. attorneys have always been a late summer, early fall before they are confirmed, but we are moving forward with some really great nominees," said Sessions.

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