Trump blames Democrats for migrant child deaths

washington — Trump claims Democrats to blame for Guatemalan children who died in US Border Patrol custody in his 1st comments on their deaths.

In his first public statements on the deaths of two Guatemalan children in US custody, President Donald Trump claimed they were “very sick” before they reached the border and foisted responsibility for their deaths on Democrats, yet both young migrants passed initial health screenings by Border Patrol.

While Trump and Democrats traded barbs over immigration policy, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was visiting medical officials and Border Patrol agents at the southern border in Arizona and Texas, promising additional wellness screenings for migrant children.

Trump, whose administration has faced widespread criticism over the deaths, pointed on Twitter at Democrats “and their pathetic immigration policies that allow people to make the long trek thinking they can enter our country illegally.” He also said that both children “were very sick before they were given over to Border Patrol.”

Trump’s accusations came as the partial government shutdown wore on with no sign of ending over funding for sections of a border wall. Most of Homeland Security employees, including Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement are required to report for work without pay. The rest are furloughed.

Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said last week that prior to this month, no child had died in their custody in more than a decade.

In Guatemala, the mother of 8-year-old Felipe Gomez Alonzo, who died Christmas Eve, said that her son was healthy when he left with his father on their journey hoping to migrate to the US

“When he called me, he told me he was fine. He told me not to worry because he was fine,” Catarina Alonzo said from the family’s home in the remote Guatemalan village of Yalambojoch, her stepdaughter Catarina Gomez translating her indigenous language Chuj into Spanish.

Catarina Alonzo said the last time she spoke with Felipe he was in Mexico at the US border and said he was eating chicken. Their village is in Nenton municipality in Huehuetenango province, about 250 miles west of Guatemala City.

The other child, 7-year-old Jakelin Caal, died December 8 in El Paso. She showed signs of sepsis shock, a potentially fatal condition brought on by infection, officials said.

An initial screening of Jakelin “revealed no evidence of health issues,” US Customs and Border Protection said December 14. It wasn’t until several hours later that Jakelin’s father, Nery Caal, told agents she was “sick and vomiting,” CBP said. —