Former President Barack Obama is weighing in on the ongoing US–Mexico border crisis in which thousands of children have been separated from their parents. In a Facebook post on Wednesday, he began, "Today is World Refugee Day."
Obama then asked Americans to be empathetic to the undocumented border-crossers. "If you've been fortunate enough to have been born in America, imagine for a moment if circumstance had placed you somewhere else."
He also asked anyone reading the post: "Are we a nation that accepts the cruelty of ripping children from their parents’ arms, or are we a nation that values families, and works to keep them together?"
Obama also reminded those in the US that everyone's family had once traversed land and ocean to get to this country.
He then asked citizens and lawmakers to carry these ideals out "through our policies, our laws, our actions, and our votes."
One of Obama's former senior advisers, Dan Pfeiffer, appeared on BuzzFeed News' AM to DM show Wednesday morning to explain why — up until now — he thought the former president had not publicly addressed the border crisis.
Former White House adviser @danpfeiffer on why he thinks Obama hasn’t spoken out on border separation yet
"He always wants to weigh in at the moment he can be most effective to what is the longer, larger strategic goal here," Pfeiffer said.
He suspected that if Obama thought his speaking out would "make an actual difference in reuniting these children with their parents, he would absolutely do it."
"If it was just for the purpose of just making himself better, or making his supporters feel better with no actual impact, then it wouldn't make sense," Pfeiffer added.