The former U.S. ambassador to Mexico has slammed President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, calling them “un-American” and counterproductive.
“Unless the administration can address the reasons why migrants from Mexico and Central America are coming to the U.S., no amount of draconian and frankly, un-American policies, as I believe these are, is really going to make a permanent difference,” Roberta Jacobson told National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition.
Instead, she said, the updated policies “may affect our own standing in the world and certainly in the region.”
The U.S. has come under widespread criticism for separating migrant children from their parents when they are detained at the Mexican border. Nearly 2,000 were separated from their families during a six-week period in April and May.
Jacobson was ambassador from March 30, 2012, to May 5, 2016. During that time, she said, her country’s approval rating in Mexico dropped by more than 30%.
In the end, Jacobson said, “it is very difficult to see how these policies either help the United States or the countries from which the migrants are coming.”
The administration has also changed asylum laws so that people fleeing domestic and gang violence are no longer eligible to apply for asylum.
The policies have been widely criticized by lawmakers, advocacy groups, medical experts and religious leaders.
Source: The Hill (en)
