DOJ Fires Back at Washington Post For Reporting End to Zero Tolerance Policy: Paper ‘Never Reached Out’

After an anonymous official in the Trump administration told the Washington Post that they will stop prosecuting migrant parents who cross the border illegally with children, a spokesperson at the Department of Justice rebutted the claim.

“We’re suspending prosecutions of adults who are members of family units until ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) can accelerate resource capability to allow us to maintain custody,” the official told the Washington Post today, which — if true — would complete the administration’s 180 on the issue.

However, the DOJ’s Director of Public Affairs Sarah Flores said the anonymous source’s claim is false and aggressively pushed back against it.

“The Washington Post never reached out to the Department. Their story is not accurate,” Flores said on Twitter today. “There has been no change to the Department’s zero tolerance policy to prosecute adults who cross our border illegally instead of claiming asylum at any port of entry at the border.”

The Washington Post never reached out to the Department. Their story is not accurate. There has been no change to the Department’s zero tolerance policy to prosecute adults who cross our border illegally instead of claiming asylum at any port of entry at the border.

— Sarah Isgur Flores (@SarahFloresDOJ) June 21, 2018

Trump has previously said officials will keep their “zero tolerance” policy in place toward those who violate border crossing laws, which Flores clearly believes is an initiative that will stay in place — despite the president reversing the policy that split migrant families apart yesterday.

[image via Alex Wong/Getty Images]

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