Former first lady Laura Bush condemned the Trump administration’s decision to institute a “zero-tolerance” policy toward illegal border crossings, separating minors from their families as their guardians are prosecuted over their immigration status.
“I live in a border state. I appreciate the need to enforce and protect our international boundaries, but this zero-tolerance policy is cruel. It is immoral. And it breaks my heart,” Bush wrote in an opinion piece published in the Washington Post on Sunday.
“Our government should not be in the business of warehousing children in converted box stores or making plans to place them in tent cities in the desert outside of El Paso,” she continued. “These images are eerily reminiscent of the Japanese American internment camps of World War II, now considered to have been one of the most shameful episodes in U.S. history.”
Bush’s op-ed follows Melania Trump’s spokeswoman saying earlier Sunday the first lady was urging Democrats and Republicans to come together to pass compassionate U.S. immigration law reform.
“Mrs. Trump hates to see children separated from their families and hopes both sides of the aisle can finally come together to achieve successful immigration reform,” Stephanie Grisham, Trump’s communications director, said in a statement shared with the Washington Examiner. “She believes we need to be a country that follows all laws, but also a country that governs with heart.”
President Trump is expected to meet with the entire GOP caucus on Capitol Hill Tuesday to push congressional Republicans toward passing legislation that may address the family separation matter.
