Wednesday, October 9, 2024

The First Lady speaks about separating families at the border

Melania Trump, who typically shies away from the political spotlight, waded into the controversial immigration debate when her office released a statement yesterday talking about the family separation taking place at the border.

“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,” the first lady’s spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said in a statement. “She believes we need to be a country that follows all laws, but also a country that governs with heart.”

The current policy stems from the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” toward people crossing the border. As migrants who crossed the border await trial, their children are separated from them and sent to a separate facility while their parents go through the criminal process.

The policy, set forth by President Trump and implemented by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, has come under sharp criticism by lawmakers, advocates and the religious community — including some in the president’s base. Despite the backlash, the president has defended the policy and placed the blame on Democrats.

Even former first lady Laura Bush spoke out against the policy in an op-ed for The Washington Post.

“People on all sides agree that our immigration system isn’t working, but the injustice of zero tolerance is not the answer,” Bush wrote in the Post. “I moved away from Washington almost a decade ago, but I know there are good people at all levels of government who can do better to fix this.”

ABC News