The Trump administration has been accused of acting like Nazis by both politicians and members of the public ever since adopting a new ‘zero tolerance’ policy towards illegal immigrants who try and cross the country’s southern border.
Rosie O’Donnell joined that chorus over the weekend, taking aim at President Trump’s senior policy advisor Stephen Miller, who has been the most vocal supporter of this new measure.
In a tweet posted on Saturday, O’Donnell drew a photo of Miller, and next to his head wrote: ‘baby Hitler.’
She then wrote: ‘Stephen Miller – god will not forgive you #HitlerPlaybook.’
It is not the first time she has used that language, saying in the past that individuals who work with President Trump are Nazis and referring to the commander-in-chief as ‘Adolf Trump.’
The New York Times reported over the weekend that Miller played a crucial role in convincing President Trump to adopt this new policy.
Miller felt it would be a ‘potent tool in a severely limited arsenal of strategies for stopping migrants from flooding across the border.’
At the same time, he reportedly derided the ‘catch and release’ policy of previous administrations, arguing that it ‘provided a perverse incentive for migrants, essentially ensuring that if they could make it to the United States border and claim a “credible fear” of returning home, they would be given a chance to stay under asylum laws, at least temporarily.’
General John Kelly, who headed up the Department of Homeland Security prior to taking over as chief-of-staff, has also voiced his support for the administration’s current policy in the past.
That policy is now being labelled ‘immoral’ by a number of prominent Republicans, most notably former first lady Laura Bush and former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly.
‘The government should know how bad this looks and how innocent children are actually suffering. That kind of scenario is unacceptable to most Americans as exemplified by former First Lady Laura Bush’s withering criticism,’ wrote O’Reilly on Twitter Monday.
Lash out: On Monday, the Trump administration defended this practice despite criticism from former first ladies Laura Bush and Michelle Obama as well as Bill O’Reilly (O’Donnell above in May)
Bush had posted on Twitter the previous night, stating: ‘I live in a border state. I appreciate the need to enforce and protect our international boundaries, but this zero-tolerance policy is cruel. It is immoral. And it breaks my heart.’
Another former first lady, Michelle Obama, showed her support by retweeting Bush and writing: ‘Sometimes truth transcends party.’
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen defended that policy on Monday while speaking in front of a supportive audience at a conference for the National Sheriffs’ Association on Monday.
‘We will not apologize for the job we do or for the job law enforcement does for doing the job that the American people expect us to do,’ said Nielsen.
‘Illegal actions have and must have consequences. No more free passes, no more get out of jail free cards.’
President Trump has adopted this policy in hopes that it will pressure Democrats into supporting his desire to build a wall at Mexican border.