Trump blames the Democrats for the deaths of two migrant children

President Donald Trump has blamed the Democrats for the tragic deaths of two young

Guatemalan children who died in US custody at the US-Mexico border in an enraged and illogical Twitter tirade.

In what theWashington Post has labelled a ‘new low’, Trump’s first comments on the Christmas Eve death of 8-year-old Felipe Gomez Alonzo and the December 8 death of 7-year-old Jakelin Caal expressed no empathy or condolences to the heartbroken families. Instead he just jumped straight into pointing the finger at the Democrats, saying the deaths were a result of their “pathetic immigration policies”.

“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!” Mr Trump wrote — even though his administration created new policies to slow the ability of immigrants to seek legal paths into the country.

Further, at least one of the laws his administration has blamed — legislation that prevents the immediate deportation of unaccompanied children from Central American countries — was signed in 2008 by President George W. Bush, a Republican.

And in a second tweet, Mr Trump made another glaring falsehood when he claimed that the two children were already ill.

Both young migrants had, in fact, passed initial health screenings by border officials.

“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!” Mr Trump tweeted.

But on December 14, six days after Jakelin’s death, US Customs and Border Protection said that an initial screening of Jakelin “revealed no evidence of health issues.”

It wasn’t until several hours later that Jakelin’s father, Nery Caal, told agents she was “sick and vomiting,” the agency said.

Attorneys for the Caal family have also denied claims that Nery “hadn’t given her water in days,” as Mr Trump wrote.

And US Customs and Border Protection said Tuesday that agents logged 23 welfare checks of Felipe and his father in the first several days the two were was detained.

Felipe’s father, Agustin Gomez, told a Guatemalan official that the boy first showed signs of illness Monday morning, the day he died.

After an agent noticed Felipe coughing, father and son were taken to an Alamogordo hospital, where Felipe was diagnosed with a common cold and found to have a fever of 39.4 degrees Celsius.

Felipe was then was held for observation for 90 minutes, according to US Customs and Border Protection, before being released with prescriptions for amoxicillin and ibuprofen.

But the boy fell sick hours later and was re-admitted to the hospital. He died just before midnight on Christmas Eve.

In Guatemala, Felipe’s mother told The Associated Press 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.

Democrats have been quick to criticised the president’s tweets.

In a tweet addressing the president, Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono wrote: “Obviously nothing is too low or cruel for you. A collective New Year’s wish: For the sake of our country, you can stop now.”

Democrat Joaquin Castro added: “You slander Jakelin’s memory and re-traumatise her family by spreading lies about why she died.”

Meanwhile, voters were quick to correct Mr Trump and point out the irony of a fiercely anti-immigration president playing the blame game.

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

The president’s tweets come as Democrats and Republicans look for a solution to end the partial government shutdown that is now expected to extend into the new year.

The two sides appear to be at an impasse over Mr Trump’s demand to include funding for a border wall in the legislation.