This is a Senator, for god's sake. She doesn't understand that crossing the border illegally is actually a "crime" or somehow believes that it's only a crime because Trump says it's a crime. When told that there is a specific criminal statue, she claims "confusion"?
Certainly it's true that the executive branch can make certain decisions on prosecuting certain crimes. For example, there has been no Federal attempts to bust up the pot shops in states that have legalized marijuana (in spite of the fact that selling it is a Federal crime).
It's even true that the Obama administration chose not to prosecute most aliens who crossed the border illegally. Rather they relied on civil actions. But the fact that the previous administration did not prosecute a particular crime, doesn't mean it's not a crime. It was simply a crime that Obama did not feel should be prosecuted.
Short of executive direction to "not" prosecute a particular criminal activity, it's the default responsibility for law enforcement to prosecute all criminal activities. This is exactly what border security and ICE are doing. What's the confusion?
