Attorney General Jeff Sessions announces new 'zero-tolerance' illegal immigration policy

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a new "zero-tolerance" policy Friday for immigrants who crossed into the country illegally through the Southwest border.

In a memo issued Friday, Sessions said anyone entering the country illegally will be met with "the full prosecutorial powers of the Department of Justice."

He directed all federal prosecutors to make immigration offenses a top priority.

"You play a critical part in fulfilling these goals, and I thank you for your continued efforts in seeing to it that our laws—and as a result, our nation—are respected," he said.

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The crackdown comes after the Department of Homeland Security reported a 203 percent increase in illegal border crossings from March 2017 to March 2018, according to the memo. The department also noted a 37 percent increase from February 2018 to March 2018—the largest month-to-month increase since 2011.

Arrests of people trying to cross illegally into the U.S. from Mexico were actually at a 46-year low throughout 2017, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security.

Border officers apprehended approximately 310,000 people in fiscal year 2017 — a 25 percent decrease from the previous year.

The number of apprehensions jumped by 40 percent from February to March, which DHS said was consistent with seasonal trends.

Sessions said the "unacceptable" border situation is a result of Congress' failure to pass legislation that would close "dangerous loopholes" and fund President Donald Trump's proposed border wall.

The policy change came the same day Gov. Doug Ducey announced on Twitter that Arizona will send 150 National Guard members to assist with Trump's order to deploy troops along the state's southern border with Mexico.

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