The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Opinion Laura Bush: Separating children from their parents at the border ‘breaks my heart’

By
June 17, 2018 at 8:45 p.m. EDT
ProPublica obtained audio from inside a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility, where children can be heard wailing as they ask for their family members. (Video: ProPublica)

Laura Bush is a former first lady of the United States.

On Sunday, a day we as a nation set aside to honor fathers and the bonds of family, I was among the millions of Americans who watched images of children who have been torn from their parents. In the six weeks between April 19 and May 31, the Department of Homeland Security has sent nearly 2,000 children to mass detention centers or foster care. More than 100 of these children are younger than 4 years old. The reason for these separations is a zero-tolerance policy for their parents, who are accused of illegally crossing our borders.