Former first lady Laura Bush is getting a lot of attention for her strong condemnation of the "zero-tolerance" policy toward separating families caught crossing the border illegally. Here's a look at what other Texans are saying about the policy, which has resulted in almost 2,000 immigrant children being taken from their parents since April. The policy means that all adults caught sneaking into the United States are prosecuted for the crime, which is a misdemeanor.

Texas public defender and judge

"Your honor, he's been separated from his son," assistant federal public defender Azalea Aleman-Bendiks said in a South Texas courtroom earlier this month, The Washington Post reported. "We would prefer to have him not continued in custody because he is traveling with his 11-year-old son. He's been separated from him and if he doesn't get back today, the chances of him being reunited with him go down."

"I trust and hope that you will be reunited with your family members," federal magistrate Peter E. Ormsby said to immigrants in his McAllen courtroom. "But I also hope you understand that the reason there was a separation is that you violated the laws here of the United States."

1 / 2Immigrants are dropped off at a bus station shortly after being released from detention through the "catch and release" immigration policy on Sunday in McAllen. (Loren Elliott / Agence France-Presse) 2 / 2Immigrants walk to a nearby Catholic Charities relief center after being dropped off at a bus station shortly after release from detention through "catch and release" immigration policy on Sunday in McAllen.(Loren Elliott / Agence France-Presse)

Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Beto O'Rourke

"There's no doubt that the images that we've seen of children, and children being separated from their parents, are heartbreaking. They were heartbreaking when Obama was president," Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said after speaking at the Texas Republican convention.

"It really doesn't matter where the tent cities are constructed — we shouldn't be doing this," Rep. Beto O'Rourke, a Democrat who is seeking to unseat Cruz, told the El Paso Times. "We shouldn't be separating children from their parents."

State Sen. José Rodríguez

"This week we're experiencing 100- to 105-degree weather," state Sen. José Rodríguez, D-El Paso, told the Times. "You are talking about placing children in tents in the desert regions of West Texas? It is totally inhumane and it is outrageous. It should be condemned by anyone who has a moral sense of responsibility."

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings

"The separation of a child from a parent who has entered our country to seek asylum is cruel and unconscionable," Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins

"You can be the most far-right person on immigration or the most far-left person on immigration, but we can still come together and agree that these children deserve our compassion and we should help, if we can," said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, who offered to house the children in Dallas County.

Former first lady Laura Bush

"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," former first Lady Laura Bush wrote in The Washington Post.

1 / 2Border Patrol agents arrive to detain a group of Central American asylum seekers near the U.S.-Mexico border on Tuesday in McAllen. (John Moore / Getty Images) 2 / 2The group of women and children had rafted across the Rio Grande from Mexico and were detained before being sent to a processing center for possible separation.(John Moore / Getty Images)

Sen. John Cornyn

"I think we all can agree that it's a terrible outcome, to see the children separated from their parents," Republican Sen. John Cornyn said at a meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Bloomberg News reported. Cornyn said he will push for legislation that keeps families together while they wait for immigration hearings.

Gov. Greg Abbott

"Well, listen, this is horrible and it rips everybody's heart apart about what is going on," Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, told KXAS-TV (NBC5) on Friday. "The president actually was talking about it this morning, even he was ripped apart about what is going on. He was adamant, he said listen, if the Democrats would agree with him right now, they could pass a law today that would end the ripping apart of these families, and make the border secure."

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo

"Our government has the discretion in our laws to ensure that young children are not separated from their parents and exposed to irreparable harm and trauma. Families are the foundational element of our society and they must be able to stay together," Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston, said last week at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops spring meeting in Florida last week, according to Religion News Service." Separating babies from their mothers is not the answer and is immoral."