Ivanka Trump on family separation: 'That was a low point for me'

President Donald Trump's daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump came out Thursday against the family separations that resulted from her father's zero-tolerance policy for illegal immigration, calling them a "low point" of her White House tenure thus far.

"That was a low point for me as well," she said during an interview with Axios. "I feel very strongly about that, and I am very vehemently against family separation and the separation of parents and children."


The Trump administration last week reunited at least 1,442 children with their parents, though 2,551 children were identified as separated from a parent at the border. An additional 378 were connected with parents or sponsors in the U.S. or turned 18 while in custody.

Undocumented migrant children and parents had been separated at the southern border as a result of a Trump administration policy mandating that all people crossing the border illegally be referred for criminal prosecution. Under withering criticism over the policy, the president later signed an executive order to end the practice.

Ivanka Trump has often been called a champion for children and parents due to her involvement and advocacy for paid-family leave. The president's daughter, however, was mum on commenting about the separations as they were ongoing.

Ivanka Trump also said that immigration is "incredibly complex as a topic" and "illegal immigration is incredibly complicated."

She added that she is the daughter of an immigrant, noting that her mother Ivana Trump grew up in communist Czech Republic. She was also quick to mention that her mother "came to this country legally."

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"We have to be very careful about incentivizing behavior that puts children at risk of being trafficked, at risk of entering this country with coyotes or making an incredibly dangerous journey alone," she said. "These are not easy issues, these are incredibly difficult issues and like the rest of the country, I experience them in a very emotional way."

The president's daughter also broke from her father's view on the media, saying she does "not feel like the media is the enemy of the people."

Donald Trump has a rocky relationship with the press, often calling outlets "fake news" over stories he does not agree with.

"I've certainly received my fair share of reporting on me personally that I know not to be fully accurate," Ivanka Trump said. "So I've had some sensitivity around why people have concerns and gripe especially when they feel targeted."