Former CIA Director Michael Hayden on Monday said he sees a “commonality” between Nazi Germany’s separation of children at concentration camps and the Trump administration policy that is forcing children to be separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I know we’re not Nazi Germany, alright. But there is a commonality there, and a fear on my part … We have standards we have to live up to,” Hayden told CNN’s “New Day.”
Hayden on Saturday posted a photo to Twitter of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp used by Nazi Germany during World War II.
{mosads}“I guess I wanted to grab people’s attention, John, because as I reflected on this Saturday afternoon, this seemed to be a very important matter to my mind,” Hayden told host John Berman on Monday.
Hayden’s comparison comes amid the growing controversy facing the Trump administration over its “zero tolerance” policy at the Southwest border.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions earlier this year directed the Justice Department to prioritize the criminal prosecution of individuals illegally attempting to cross the border.
The Associated Press last week reported that approximately 2,000 children were separated from their families in recent weeks.