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Obama condemns Trump immigration policy

Published

6 years ago

June 20, 2018

Former US President, Barack Obama on Wednesday demanded an end to Donald Trump administration’s policy of separation of migrant children from parents at the US-Mexico border.
Obama, in a statement posted on Facebook to mark the World Refugee Day, said the “cruelty” of the practice was contrary to American ideals.

“To watch those families broken apart in real time puts to us a very simple question: are we a nation that accepts the cruelty of ripping children from their parents’ arms, or are we a nation that values families, and works to keep them together?

“To find a way to welcome the refugee and the immigrant –- to be big enough and wise enough to uphold our laws and honor our values at the same time – is part of what makes us Americans”, he said.

Obama’s comments joined opposition to the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy which begun in early May that caused the separation of more than 2,300 children from their parents after they crossed the US-Mexico border illegally.