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'Un-American': U2's Bono Claims US-Mexico Border Separations 'Just Have to Stop'

Bono, co-founder of the ONE Campaign that is striving to end extreme poverty and fight HIV/Aids, has visited Capitol Hill to thank US lawmakers in Congress for funding international development programs.
Sputnik

The U2 frontman has called on members of the US Congress from both parties to act regarding the situation on the US-Mexico border, where thousands of children have been separated from their parents as they illegally entered the United States.

"I've been talking to lots of Republicans. They say they want to fix the situation, but it just has to stop. I cannot think of a more un-American thing than warehousing children," Bono said. 

Bono noted that because he's Irish, he felt the necessity to draw the US lawmakers' attention to the situation with family separations, remembering his own people's history.

"For anybody, but for Irish people, who were essentially economic refugees to this country, it's very, very upsetting," he said after the meeting.

In his speech, Bono also urged support for the bipartisan Build Act, "innovative legislation which will spur private sector investment in developing countries, helping them grow their economies and lift themselves out of extreme poverty."

READ MORE: US Watchdog Denied Access to Migrant Camp Near US-Mexico Border

Earlier the same day, US President Donald Trump delivered a speech on immigration policy, saying he is going to amend it after consultations with Congress because he does not want children "taken away from their parents."

The Trump administration has been harshly criticized for its border policy after recent images from a detention center in Texas showed children locked up in cages.

Almost 2,000 immigrant children were forcibly isolated from their parents between April 19 and May 31 following arrests including illegal entry into the United States, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

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