Washington (CNN) Ex-CIA Director Michael Hayden defended the positions of US allies who have come out against US immigration practices at the Southern border.

"If Turkey or Jordan were treating refugees from the violence in Syria the way we're treating refugees on our southern border right now, we would join the British and the Canadians in New York at the UN condemning it," Hayden said Wednesday night on CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront."

US immigration policies have forced undocumented children to be separated from their parents, a situation that has resulted in increased pressure on the Trump administration.

On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order that is aimed at keeping more families together at the border.

Leaders of the UK and Canada have spoken out against the images coming from the US.

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