President Trump on Saturday sought to saddle Democratic lawmakers with the blame for the deaths of two migrant children who died while they were in government custody.
The assertion came as Trump further advocated for border wall funding, which is the root of a standoff resulting in an eight-day partial government shutdown.
“Any deaths of children or others at the Border are strictly the fault of the Democrats and their pathetic immigration policies that allow people to make the long trek thinking they can enter our country illegally. They can’t. If we had a Wall, they wouldn’t even try!” Trump tweeted. “The two… children in question were very sick before they were given over to Border Patrol. The father of the young girl said it was not their fault, he hadn’t given her water in days. Border Patrol needs the Wall and it will all end. They are working so hard & getting so little credit!”
Any deaths of children or others at the Border are strictly the fault of the Democrats and their pathetic immigration policies that allow people to make the long trek thinking they can enter our country illegally. They can’t. If we had a Wall, they wouldn’t even try! The two…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 29, 2018
…children in question were very sick before they were given over to Border Patrol. The father of the young girl said it was not their fault, he hadn’t given her water in days. Border Patrol needs the Wall and it will all end. They are working so hard & getting so little credit!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 29, 2018
House Democrats this week vowed to investigate how and why Felipe Alonzo-Gomez, 8, and Jakelin Caal, 7, died in federal custody.
Alonzo-Gomez, of Guatemala, died Christmas Eve at a New Mexico medical center after being diagnosed the day before with a common cold and fever. Alonzo-Gomez and his father had been detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents on Dec. 18 near El Paso, Texas.
Caal, also Guatemalan, passed away earlier this month in El Paso from what is suspected to have been a combination of septic shock, fever, and dehydration shortly after she, her father, and about 160 other migrants were intercepted on Dec. 6 by authorities near New Mexico’s southern border. But Caal’s father, Nery, through a spokesman, has pushed backed back on reports she “had not been able to consume food or water for days” prior to her death. The Daily Beast reported, however, that the Bounds Forward Operating Base where Caal was temporarily held had experienced issues with contaminated drinking water.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen additionally implored lawmakers to take action to help prevent future deaths.
“I am proud of the lifesaving work the men and women of the Border Patrol do every day, but we do not currently have the resources we need to execute the mission as directed by Congress,” Nielsen said Wednesday. “To those in Congress who continue to refuse to take action to address the loopholes that cause a flood of humanity to travel north and place children at risk, I once again call on you to do your job, protect vulnerable populations, secure our borders, and provide the men and women of DHS the authorities and resources we need to address this crisis.”
Trump’s pair of tweets Saturday follow an earlier missive in which the president said he was waiting at the White House for the Democrats “to come on over and make a deal” to end the partial government shutdown triggered by a breakdown in negotiations over funding for his proposed border wall.
“From what I hear, they are spending so much time on Presidential Harassment that they have little time left for things like stopping crime and our military!” he wrote.
I am in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come on over and make a deal on Border Security. From what I hear, they are spending so much time on Presidential Harassment that they have little time left for things like stopping crime and our military!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 29, 2018
