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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he will not “play politics” over immigration policies when it comes to the controversial U.S. practice of charging and separating illegal migrants from their children when they cross the border into the United States.

The U.S. government is under fire for its “zero tolerance” policy — including from the human rights chief of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which condemned the practice Monday as “unconscionable.” Amnesty International also weighed in, describing children being torn from the arms of their parents and placed into “cages” as “nothing short of torture.”

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But Trudeau would not offer an opinion on the controversial policy, saying his role as prime minister is to stand up for Canadian values but also to maintain a constructive relationship with the U.S.

“What we will not do is play politics with this,” the prime minister said. “We understand how important it is to be firm and unequivocal as we protect and support human rights around the world. And we will continue to do that both by example and by engagement with the world.”