US First Lady dismayed by border separation of kids
TRAGIC JOURNEY At least five, including illegal migrants, killed in Texas chase WASHINGTON:
First lady Melania Trump has said she “hates” to see families separated at the US-Mexico border and hoped “both sides of the aisle” can reform the nation’s immigration laws, even as the issue deepened divisions among Republicans.
Amid reports that kids separated from parents were being kept to wait in cages in Texas, former first lady Laura Bush wrote a strongly worded article in Washington Post seeking policy change.
In her state of Texas, an SUV crashed during a chase by border agents, killing at least five people including suspected illegal migrants.
Laura Bush called the so-called zero tolerance policy “cruel” and “immoral” while Republican senator Susan Collins expressed concern, and a former adviser to Donald Trump said he thought the issue was going to hurt the president at some point. Religious groups, including conservative ones, are protesting.
Laura Bush made some of the strongest comments yet about the policy from the Republican side of the aisle. “I live in a border state. I appreciate the need to enforce and protect our international boundaries, but this zerotolerance policy is cruel,” she wrote in a guest column for the Post on Sunday.
“It is immoral. And it breaks myheart,” sheadded,comparing it to the internment of JapaneseAmericans during World War 2, which she called “one of the most shameful episodes in US history.”
In her statement through her spokesperson on Sunday, Melania Trump didn’t refer specifically to the Trump administration’s policy, which was leading to a spike in children being separated from their families.
The statement, issued after several days of images of crying children appearing on television and online, said: “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.”
“She believes we need to be a country that follows all laws, but also a country that governs with heart.” said Stephanie Grisham, the First Lady’s spokeswoman.
Democratic lawmakers and others have pointed out no law mandates the separation of children and parents at the border.
At least five people were killed and several others hurt on Sunday as an SUV carrying more than a dozen people during a suspected “smuggling event” crashed while fleeing from Border Patrol agents in South Texas.
The SUV was carrying 14 people when it went out of control at more than 100mph and overturned on Texas Highway 85, ejecting most of the occupants.
Reports from Texas said hundreds, including children, were waiting in cages created by metal fencing after being separated fromtheirfamilies. Onecagehad 20 children inside.
More than 1,100 people were inside the large, dark facility that’s divided into separate wings for unaccompanied children, adults on their own, and mothers and fathers with children. Close to 200 people inside the facility were minors.
Government data indicate that nearly 2,000 children were separated from their families over a six-week period in April and May.