[Published: Monday June 18 2018]
 US first ladies condemn Trump separation policy
WASHINGTON 18 Jun (ANA) - The former US First Lady Laura Bush has condemned a controversial policy that splits up families who illegally enter the country.
Writing in the Washington Post, she describes the separation of children from their parents as cruel, immoral and heart-breaking.
Her comments follow growing controversy over President Donald Trump's "zero-tolerance" immigration policy.
Earlier Melania Trump made a rare statement expressing concern.
Mrs Trump "hates to see children separated from their families", her spokeswoman said.
She repeated her husband's call for "both sides" to work on immigration reform as a solution. However, fact-checkers point out that the policy was introduced by Mr Trump's attorney general and does not require congressional action to be stopped.
In a recent six-week period there were nearly 2,000 family separations following a crackdown on illegal border crossings.
Adults who try to cross the border outside of official entry points - many planning to seek asylum - are placed in custody and face criminal prosecution for illegal entry.
Laura Bush, wife of the former Republican President George W Bush, launched an outspoken attack on the policy.
"This zero-tolerance policy is cruel. It is immoral. And it breaks my heart," she wrote in the Washington Post.
"Our government should not be in the business of warehousing children in converted box stores or making plans to place them in tent cities in the desert." (ANA)
FA/ANA/18 June 2018--------
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Africa/US/China