Laura Bush Blasts The Trump Administration In Surprising Op-Ed

Apparently, this entire political topic really strikes a nerve with first ladies.

First, Melania Trump weighed in.

“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,” Melania Trump’s communications director, Stephanie Grisham, said in a statement. “She believes we need to be a country that follows all laws, but also a country that governs with heart.”

Now, Laura Bush is speaking out.

She wrote an opinion piece for the Washington Post, blasting the current “zero-tolerance” illegal immigration policy.

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.

No no no. I MORE than appreciate the need. It’s a NECESSITY. America First. Illegal immigrants have to bear SOME responsibility here. They bring children over, hoping it will enhance their chances of staying in the United States. I repeat, they are putting their children in these situations in the first place. Don’t tell me it’s only out of sheer desperation, because there are many LEGAL immigrants who do this the right way. They come here LEGALLY and send money back home until they can bring the rest of their family here LEGALLY. It’s wrong to simply dismiss the Trump administration’s actions as heartless and cruel. It’s trying to establish the rule of law– the SAME rule of law that existed under the Obama administration, mind you.

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 outside of El Paso. 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. 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.

OMG LAURA YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS RIGHT NOW. Comparing this to Japanese internment camps? That’s ridiculous.

Americans pride ourselves on being a moral nation, on being the nation that sends humanitarian relief to places devastated by natural disasters or famine or war. We pride ourselves on believing that people should be seen for the content of their character, not the color of their skin. We pride ourselves on acceptance. If we are truly that country, then it is our obligation to reunite these detained children with their parents — and to stop separating parents and children in the first place.

Then in the very least, Democrats in Congress should work with Republicans to provide more funding for family facilities. But the bottom line? We need to stop rewarding this lawless behavior. It’s simply unacceptable.

People on all sides agree that our immigration system isn’t working, but the injustice of zero tolerance is not the answer. I moved away from Washington almost a decade ago, but I know there are good people at all levels of government who can do better to fix this.

She continued:

Twenty-nine years ago, my mother-in-law, Barbara Bush, visited Grandma’s House, a home for children with HIV/AIDS in Washington. Back then, at the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis, the disease was a death sentence, and most babies born with it were considered “untouchables.” During her visit, Barbara — who was the first lady at the time — picked up a fussy, dying baby named Donovan and snuggled him against her shoulder to soothe him. My mother-in-law never viewed her embrace of that fragile child as courageous. She simply saw it as the right thing to do in a world that can be arbitrary, unkind and even cruel. She, who after the death of her 3-year-old daughter knew what it was to lose a child, believed that every child is deserving of human kindness, compassion and love.

In 2018, can we not as a nation find a kinder, more compassionate and more moral answer to this current crisis? I, for one, believe we can.

There’s just so much misinformation floating around. I’m really disappointed in Laura for playing into the narrative.