The power creep really undermined the message. When the X-Men started the strength of the powers was more subdued. Ice Man creates ice, which he predominantly used to make ramps to slide around on. Then decades later some hack writer was all "actually, he has control over the forces of entropy itself and can destroy the whole universe if he wanted". So yeah, maybe killing mutant children before their powers can fully manifest is a good idea.
X-Men - A group of dangerous mutants who take on the responsibility of self-policing their community for PR reasons
not like the government has any way to counter a guy who can make a town disappear in his sleep.
The power creep really undermined the message. When the X-Men started the strength of the powers was more subdued. Ice Man creates ice, which he predominantly used to make ramps to slide around on. Then decades later some hack writer was all "actually, he has control over the forces of entropy itself and can destroy the whole universe if he wanted". So yeah, maybe killing mutant children before their powers can fully manifest is a good idea.