Former first lady Laura Bush published an op-ed condemning the separation of families at the border in the Washington Post on Sunday.
“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.
“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,” she continued. “We also know that this treatment inflicts trauma; interned Japanese have been two times as likely to suffer cardiovascular disease or die prematurely than those who were not interned.”
Bush compared the apprehension of people who tried to come into the country illegally to the internment of Japanese people in the United States in the 1940s. Others have said that the U.S.’s current policy is reminiscent of Nazi Germany. (RELATED: ‘Morning Joe’ Compares US Immigration Detention Facilities To Concentration Camps)
She added, “People on all sides agree that our immigration system isn’t working, but the injustice of zero tolerance is not the answer.”
The White House has repeatedly blamed the Democrats for the current rules and regulations in place, while the Democrats have in turn blamed the Trump administration. (RELATED: Sarah Sanders Slams Whiny Reporter On Families Separated At Border)