Trump Blames ‘Democrats And Their Pathetic Immigration Policies’ For Deaths Of Children At the Border
President Trump places the blame on Democrats for the tragic deaths of two children in Border Patrol custody, Fox News is reporting. Trump took to Twitter on Saturday, December 29 to address the deaths of 8-year-old Felipe Gomez Alonzo and 7-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin. Maquin died on December 8 after reportedly being dehydrated for not having anything to eat or drink for several days. Alonzo died late on Christmas Eve after running a fever of 103 degrees. Both children were from Guatemala.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen stated that they were conducting a thorough investigation into the deaths and that she had ordered “extraordinary protective measures” to prevent this from happening again. According to USA Today, Nielson also stated that six other people had passed away in Border Patrol custody in the year 2018, but that none of them were children. The way Trump sees it, Maquin and Alonzo’s deaths could have been prevented if there was a wall blocking the border.
“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,” Trump tweeted. “They can’t. If we had a Wall, they wouldn’t even try!”
“The two children in question were very sick before they were given over to Border Patrol,” he added in a follow-up tweet. “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!”
President Donald Trump said the deaths of migrant children at the border are "strictly the fault of the Democrats" after two children in the custody of US Customs and Border Protection died in recent weeks. https://t.co/BoXDb9nsAm pic.twitter.com/7jl05ViZky
— CNN International (@cnni) December 29, 2018
According to Kevin McAleenan, commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, the deaths of Maquin and Alonzo are examples of a “rare occurrence.” Senator Diane Feinstein, however, believes that there is “widespread abuse of children” at the border and the facilities the children are held in “are not adequately staffed or equipped to properly care for children.”
Trump and Democratic politicians have yet to reach an agreement regarding building a border wall, and the government is still partially shut down after the shutdown first occurred on December 22. The border wall was a campaign promise of Trump’s, and he is now demanding $5 billion to fulfill that promise and build it. Democrats insist they will not pay more than $1.3 billion for border security. On Friday, December 8, Trump upped the ante by threatening to “close the Southern border entirely” if the Democrats did not end up complying.
