Attorney General Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsGOP set to release controversial Biden report Trump's policies on refugees are as simple as ABCs Ocasio-Cortez, Velázquez call for convention to decide Puerto Rico status MORE on Monday defended the Trump administration’s practice of separating parents and children who cross the border illegally from comparisons to the concentration camps of Nazi Germany, saying the Nazis "were keeping the Jews from leaving."

Sessions appeared on Fox News’s “The Ingraham Angle” amid a growing uproar over the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy to combat illegal immigration. As part of the policy, thousands of migrant children have been separated from their parents.

ADVERTISEMENT

Ingraham noted that some opponents have compared the practice to "concentration camps," while others have condemned it as a human rights violation.

“Well it’s a real exaggeration. Of course in Nazi Germany, they were keeping the Jews from leaving the country,” Sessions said.

“This is a serious matter,” he continued. “We need to think it through, be rational and thoughtful about it. We want to allow asylum for people who qualify for it, but people who want economic migration for their personal financial benefit and what they think is their family’s benefit is not a basis for a claim of asylum.”

Attorney General Jeff Sessions: "We want to allow asylum for people who qualify for it, but people who want economic migration for their personal financial benefit...is not a basis for a claim of asylum." @IngrahamAngle pic.twitter.com/ae0QoEMAVD — Fox News (@FoxNews) June 19, 2018

Asked for clarification on Sessions's comments, a Department of Justice spokeswoman told The Hill that "the Nazi comparisons that others are making" were just a "desperate attempt to distract from the fact that their policies led to the number of families illegally crossing the border jumping five-fold over the last four years.”

Sessions announced the zero tolerance policy earlier this year, saying the Justice Department would criminally prosecute all adults attempting to illegally cross the southern border into the U.S. As a result, families who crossed together would in some cases be separated, he said.

On Monday, he reiterated his argument that prosecuting anyone who crosses the border illegally can serve as a deterrent against illegal immigration.

"Hopefully people will get the message ... and not [come] across the border unlawfully," Sessions said.

Earlier Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen Kirstjen Michele NielsenMore than million in DHS contracts awarded to firm of acting secretary's wife: report DHS IG won't investigate after watchdog said Wolf, Cuccinelli appointments violated law Appeals court sides with Trump over drawdown of immigrant protections MORE rebuked a reporter who asked if separating families was intended to "send a message."

"I find that offensive. Why would I ever create a policy that purposely does that?" she responded.

Nielsen argued her department was merely enforcing the laws on the books, adding that "Congress alone" could put a stop to the policy.

President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE, meanwhile, has repeatedly blamed Democrats for the separation policy, despite his administration issuing the directive that led to the practice. On Monday, he doubled down on the policy, saying the U.S. “will not be a migrant camp and it will not be a refugee holding facility.”

Democrats and a growing number of Republicans have called on the White House to end the practice.

Updated at 11:58 p.m.