France's Le Pen Disagrees With US Policy to Separate Illegal Migrant Families

08:02 GMT, 20 June 2018

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Marine Le Pen, French politician and head of the party National Rally (RN), has said she does not agree with the new US policy to separate families who crossed the US border illegally, but blamed undocumented migrants and politicians encouraging their arrival for the situation.

Sputnik

"I do not agree with the procedure that aims to separate parents from their children. I do not know if they have a possibility to do it differently in the United States… But I am going to tell the truth now: the parents are the ones responsible for the situation," Le Pen told France 2 broadcaster.

Le Pen noted that the politicians who "encourage" undocumented migrants to cross the border were also to blame.

The separations began after US Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a new zero-tolerance policy on illegal immigration in April.

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Under the new policy, parents who cross the US border illegally are sent to US jails, while their children are taken into custody by the Department of Health and Human Services. A number of politicians and other prominent figures, including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, have denounced the policy.

Le Pen's party, RN (formerly National Front) is well-known for its tough stance on immigration. In 2017, Le Pen ran for French presidency pledging to introduce immigration quotas and tighten the conditions for obtaining citizenship. She lost to a centrist candidate, Emmanuel Macron.