Rosalynn Carter: Separating families at border is ‘a shame to our country’

Former first lady Rosalyn Carter ripped the Trump administration for separating migrant families at the border, calling the “zero tolerance” policy “disgraceful” and “a shame to our country.”

“When I was first lady, I worked to call attention to the plight of refugees fleeing Cambodia for Thailand, I visited Thailand and witnessed firsthand the trauma of parents and children separated by circumstance beyond their control,” Carter said in a statement obtained by ABC News.

“The practice and policy today of removing children from their parents’ care at our border with Mexico is disgraceful and a shame to our country,” the statement continued.

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The former first lady’s remarks come as more visuals and second-hand accounts from inside immigrant detention centers emerge, drawing a considerable backlash from both sides of the aisle.

Carter’s commentary makes her the last living first lady to express disapproval of the controversial policy, including current first lady Melania Trump, who said on Sunday that she “hates to see children separated from their families and hopes both sides of the aisle can finally come together to achieve successful immigration reform.”

Former first ladies Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama on Monday both called for the practice to stop. Laura Bush also called for the Trump administration to end the policy in an op-ed for The Washington Post published Sunday night. 

The policy, which seeks prosecution for any adult crossing the southern border illegally, has resulted in the separation of hundreds of migrant families.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the policy last month, stating that the changes would help deter future immigrants from attempting the journey to the United States.