In a rare statement on policy, first lady Melania Trump weighed in on the immigration debate Sunday.

Trump's spokeswoman  told reporters , "Mrs.

Trump hates to see children separated from their families and hopes both sides of the aisle can finally come together to achieve successful immigration reform." It is Trump's first public comment about the separations, which have been  closely tied  to the Trump administration's newly imposed "zero-tolerance" strategy on immigration.

Back in May, Attorney General Jeff Sessions  promised to prosecute  "100 percent" of people who illegally cross the southwest U.S. border.

He warned that by doing so, families would be separated.

Earlier this month, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman said  nearly 2,000 children  were separated from their parents between April 19th and May 31st of this year.

On Sunday, Melania Trump's spokeswoman went on to say, "She believes we need to be a country that follows all laws, but also a country that governs with heart." The statement came on the same day one of Trump's predecessors — former first lady Laura Bush — wrote about the separations in a column for  The Washington Post .

She called the policy "cruel" and "immoral."  Additional reporting from  Newsy affiliate CNN .