Melania ‘hates to see’ kids separated from families
‘Both sides’ urged to find a solution
WASHINGTON • Melania Trump urged “both sides of the aisle” on Sunday to come together to stop federal authorities from separating children from their parents when apprehended at the border, a rare public intervention in an issue that has generated enormous criticism of her husband.
In a statement issued by her office, the first lady expressed empathy for affected families, saying the country should be governed “with a heart,” but did not directly take issue with President Donald Trump’s policy. Instead, by saying that “both sides” needed to agree, she adopted his argument that the situation was caused by political stalemate rather than a policy he initiated.
“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 said in the statement, which her office said was issued in response to questions by reporters. “She believes we need to be a country that follows all laws, but also a country that governs with a heart.”
The president has falsely blamed Democrats for the situation, saying that he was simply enforcing a law that they had written. But no law requires families to necessarily be separated at the border.
Children have been taken away from their parents because of a Trump administration zero tolerance policy enacted this year to prosecute all unlawful immigrants as criminals.
When parents are taken into federal custody, their children are removed. Previous administrations made exceptions to such prosecutions for adults travelling with minor children, but the Trump administration has said it will not do so. Nearly 2,000 children were taken away from their parents in a six-week period ending last month under the new Trump administration policy.