As President Trump continues to praise his administration’s plan to beat the HIV epidemic by 2030, a top Trump administration official says an immigrant’s HIV status is enough to justify family separation at the border.

Brian Hastings, chief of Customs & Border Patrol, made the remarks during a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing Thursday under questioning from Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).

When Raskin asked the official if a mother or father having HIV positive status “is alone enough to justify separation from their child” Hastings affirmed that was the case.

“It is because it’s a communicable disease under the guidance,” Hastings said. Raskin mentioned reports of kids being separated from their parents on the basis of their parents HIV status, then asked why should HIV be considered a communicable disease when “it’s not communicable by contact.” Read more via Washington Blade