WASHINGTON: USPresident Donald Trump on Saturday blamed opposition Democrats for the death oftwo immigrant children in US custody, comments set to heighten tensions as thesecond week of a government shutdown began over his demands for a wall on theUS-Mexico border. "Any deaths of children or others at the Border arestrictly the fault of the Democrats and their pathetic immigration policiesthat allow people to make the long trek thinking they can enter our countryillegally. They can't. If we had a Wall, they wouldn't even try!," Trumpsaid on Twitter.
His comments cameafter the separate deaths of two Guatemalan children, aged seven and eight, whocrossed the border illegally with relatives who were taken into custody by USBorder Patrol. The tweet hardened Trump's tone after an earlier message onTwitter that said the next move in the eight-day budget standoff over borderwall funding belonged to the Democrats. "I am in the White House waitingfor the Democrats to come on over and make a deal on Border Security,"Trump tweeted.
But members ofCongress, most of them home for the holidays, kept low profiles, and there wereno evident signs of any imminent breakthrough. One Democratic representative,Dwight Evans of Pennsylvania, said in a tweet posted by his staff that Trumpwas "reaching new lows with these ridiculous tweets. His administration isthe cause of pain and suffering that is taking place at the border. Nothing thathe says will alter this truth." Others called the Trump tweets"disturbing" and pointed out that US immigration policies have beenin place for years without children dying in government custody.
Homeland SecuritySecretary Kirstjen Nielsen was in Yuma, Arizona, on a trip to witness borderoperations first hand after saying last week that the US will take"extraordinary" protective measures to deal with a surge of immigrantchildren in custody. Eight-year-old Felipe Gomez, who collapsed after running afever, died in US custody after traveling with his father Agustin Gomez from anindigenous community in Guatemala. He died on the same day that Jakelin Caal, aGuatemalan girl who died in US custody under similar circumstances earlier thismonth, was buried back in her home village.
In the last twomonths, US Border Patrol agents have apprehended 139,817 people on thesouthwest border, compared with 74,946 during the same period a year earlier,Nielsen said. More than 68,500 were "family units" while almost14,000 others were unaccompanied children, she said, and the system has beenpushed to the "breaking point". When the shutdown began on Dec 22,affecting a quarter of the federal government, Trump canceled his plans tospend the year-end holidays in Florida and vowed to remain at the White House -though he made a quick, unannounced trip to visit US troops in Iraq.
But as he triesto build pressure on Democrats to help fund the border wall he sees as anurgent priority - threatening even to close the border if no deal is reached -Democrats appear adamant in their refusal to pay for a project they view as awaste of money. Some conservative Republicans, meanwhile, appear equallydetermined to press for the wall. Trump has demanded $5 billion for wallconstruction - though the White House reportedly has shown flexibility on thatnumber - while Democrats have offered to spend no more than $1.3 billion forsecurity measures not including a wall.
A vow to reopengovernment
Nancy Pelosi, whois expected to be House speaker in the new Congress, has vowed to"swiftly" reopen the government once her Democrats take control ofthat chamber from the Republicans on Thursday. She said Democrats "willgovern responsibly in stark contrast to this chaotic White House". Trumphad previously blamed Democrats for policies he said had forced hisadministration to separate some children from their parents at the border, aclaim widely seen as specious.
The effects ofthe shutdown have been slow to appear - many of the 800,000 governmentemployees sent home or working without pay would have been off for the holidaysanyway - but once the New Year arrives, pressure will grow. The popularSmithsonian museums and National Zoo in Washington, for example, said they foundmoney to stay open through New Year's Day but will close on January 2 if thestandoff continues.
While most of theUS military is unaffected, about 42,000 Coast Guard members are working withoutpay. That branch falls under the Department of Homeland Security, not thePentagon. This is the third government shutdown of the year, following shorterclosures in January and February. Shutdowns have rarely been popular with thepublic. A recent NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll found that Americans - by 57 to 36percent - favored Trump seeking compromise rather than insisting on his walldemand. - AFP