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US Atty General Sessions Outlines Border Enforcement Plan

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Attorney General Jeff Sessions has announced a get-tough approach to immigration prosecutions during a tour of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Sessions outlined a series of changes that he said mark the start of a new era to rid American cities and the border of what he described as "filth" brought on by drug cartels.

Sessions has been expanding the Justice Department's role in the anti-immigration agenda of the Trump administration. But his Tuesday speech during his first visit to the border offered the most comprehensive look yet at his plans for federal prosecutions of those in the country illegally.

Sessions urged federal prosecutors to intensify their focus on immigration crimes such as illegal crossings or smuggling others into the U.S. Such prosecutions are already happening, however. Half of federal arrests in 2014 were for immigration-related offenses, according to a Pew Research analysis released this week.

(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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