Former CIA Director Michael Hayden on Monday likened President Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy at the border to Nazi Germany.
“Now look, I know we’re not Nazi Germany, but there is a commonality there and a fear on my part that we have standards we have to live up to,” Hayden told CNN Monday morning.
Ex-CIA chief Michael Hayden stands by comparisons of US ‘zero tolerance’ border policy resulting in separation of parents and kids to Nazi Germany: “I know we’re not Nazi Germany, but there is a commonality there and a fear on my part that we have standards we have to live up to” pic.twitter.com/Duj5MRaj1e
— New Day (@NewDay) June 18, 2018
Hayden was referring to the U.S. policy of prosecuting all illegal immigrants when they enter the U.S., which leads to the separation of adults from any children traveling with them. The Trump administration has blamed Democrats for the law, but have also said family separation also happens whenever any U.S. adult is prosecuted.
Over the weekend, Hayden tweeted a photo of Auschwitz’s Birkenau sub-camp, where many families were separated from their children before facing death during World War II Nazi Germany.
“Other governments have separated mothers and children,” Hayden wrote as a caption to the photograph.
Other governments have separated mothers and children pic.twitter.com/tvlBkGjT0h
— Gen Michael Hayden (@GenMhayden) June 16, 2018
“I wanted to grab people’s attention because as I reflected on this Saturday afternoon, this seemed to be a very important matter to my mind,” Hayden said. “I didn’t choose that picture at random. I’ve been to that camp several times… That’s the scene where families were separated.”
