WASHINGTON _ Even as a bipartisan team in the Senate worked on a compromise bill to protect so-called Dreamers, the proposal came under an unusually sharp partisan attack by the federal departments that enforce immigration law.
In a statement issued before dawn Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security blasted the bipartisan deal in apocalyptic terms, saying "it would be the end of immigration enforcement in America."
The proposal, which would include protections for Dreamers and $25 billion for a border wall and other security measures, "would effectively make the United States a Sanctuary Nation where ignoring the rule of law is encouraged," the statement said.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions added to the criticism Thursday, saying the measure drafted by a bipartisan group including Sens. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) would lead to "open borders and mass amnesty and the opposite of what the American people support."
"This amendment � plain as day � would invite a mad rush of illegality across our borders," Sessions said in a speech to a sheriff's association.
The statements point to a sharpening political tone for federal agencies in the Trump era, particularly in Homeland Security, which contains Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Border Patrol.
The Homeland Security statement drew a harsh rebuke from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who said the department "lost credibility" and overstepped boundaries by intervening in the Senate's business.
"Statements like this undermine confidence in DHS and make one question whether they can rationally engage with the Congress on this issue," Graham said in a statement.
Graham said he was "incredibly disappointed in Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen "for allowing her office to become so politicized and for allowing something like this to go out."
