Protesters almost canceled Attorney Jeff Sessions’ talk on June 25 in Reno. Photo/Linda Fine Conaboy

By Linda Fine Conaboy

RENO – Attorney General Jeff Sessions stayed true to the party line Monday as he defended the president’s policy on immigration saying children are the target of MS-13, an international criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles in the 1980s.

Sessions gave the keynote address June 25, opening the national gathering of school resource officers who are in Reno this week attending their convention. NASRO, the National Association of School Resource Officers, evidently approved and appreciated that Sessions was at their meeting, handing him two standing ovations.

As the gathering of more than 1,000 got under way inside, a group of protesters loudly showed their disapproval outside. Horns honked, a group of Native Americans chanted and drummed, and a mariachi band in full regalia added their support to the protest.

Jeff Sessions

Not to be deterred by protesters, the keynote address proceeded as scheduled with Sessions’ opening remarks giving a nod to his audience as he mentioned that research shows many young people are turning to the law now as a profession.

Why? “Because they know someone in law enforcement and consider it a noble profession, just like in the Department of Justice,” he said. “When there’s a tragedy, we believe it’s important to be there and have your back.”

He also announced that the DOJ was allocating $2 million for Las Vegas after the October shooting and $1 million to officers in Broward County, Fla.

Although he was expected to stick to the topic of school safety, this was not the case. Reading from his prepared speech, he minced no words as he got right to immigration, saying children bear the burden of a broken immigration system. Safety of children is important, he said, adding that our government spends large amounts of money on children brought to the U.S. illegally.

“If we refused to prosecute adults, it would be a disservice to people in the U.S. It will also encourage people to bring more children illegally.” He also stated that the president advised that “we will avoid separating families. It’s a great effort .…”

Moreover, he added, adults are being arrested because they refuse to enter the United States at a port of entry. “There would be no crime or arrests if they entered at ports of entry. This should not be happening in the U.S.” He said he has spent days, months and years trying to develop ways to enforce these laws, but he said Congress needs to help.

He said the United States is seeing an increase in children coming here alone. Sessions said often they’re watching as adults get involved in drugs; he added that the vast majority of drugs come here across borders, which are not secure. Open borders are radical and dangerous and not good, he declared.

“The president has made it clear that we need a relationship with our partners in the south. Think about this. In just four days at the end of March, Customs and Border Protection apprehended five juveniles who were allegedly smuggling fentanyl. The killer drug. Between the five of them, they allegedly had more than 35 pounds of fentanyl—enough to kill millions of people.”

He said MS-13 is a particularly violent group, adding that if someone unlawfully comes into our country who committed acts against children, they should be deported, not protected by sanctuary policies. He highlighted what he said were examples of children being victimized by undocumented immigrants already in the U.S.

He also said MS-13 is recruiting children who were sent here as unaccompanied minors, saying some are brought to help replenish the gang and that they are terrorizing immigrant schools and communities all across the country.

Sessions said free speech and assembly rights will be protected, but criminals will be prosecuted.

“We will invest and continue to invest in law enforcement.”

He offered kudos to what he called the unsung heroes and thanked them for committing their lives to protecting the most vulnerable among us.