Donald Trump does not need to justify the policy of separating children from parents caught illegally crossing the US border as it is part of his administration's "zero tolerance" approach on illegal immigration, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has said.
The administration has undertaken a zero tolerance immigration policy, resulting in the separation of 1,995 children from parents facing criminal prosecution for unlawfully crossing the border over a six-week period that ended last month.
The policy has provoked widespread criticism.
"It's zero tolerance. I don't think you have to justify it," Bannon said on family separation.
"We have a crisis on the southern border. But the elites in this city, and this ties into Korea, ties into everything that took place this week, the elites, the permanent political class in this city want to manage situations to un -- you know, to bad outcomes, Bannon told ABC News.
"Donald Trump is not going to do that. He's just not going to kick the can down the road, whether that is China, whether it's tariffs, whether it's Korea, whether it's the southern border, he said.
Bannon added, We ran on a policy, very simply, stop mass illegal immigration and limit legal immigration, get our sovereignty back, and to help our workers, OK? And so he went to a zero tolerance policy. Zero tolerance, it's a crime to come across illegally, and children get separated. I mean, I hate to say it, that's the law and he's enforcing the law."
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