Elizabeth Warren ripped President Trump’s border policy in a tweet to her supporters on Christmas Day.
The Massachusetts senator honored the one-year anniversary of the death of 8-year-old Felipe Gomez Alonzo, who died in U.S. Customs and Border Patrol custody last year after falling ill while traveling to the United States from Guatemala. Alonzo’s death occurred shortly after the death of 7-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin, who died of a bacterial infection also en route to the U.S. from Guatemala.
Warren, 70, said she was “heartsick” thinking of “all of the families who won’t be celebrating together today because of the Trump administration’s cruel treatment of immigrants and asylum-seekers.”
One year ago today, Felipe Gómez Alonzo died in CBP custody. He was just eight years old.
This Christmas, I’m heartsick for all of the families who won’t be celebrating together today because of the Trump administration’s cruel treatment of immigrants and asylum-seekers.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) December 25, 2019
Though the 2020 candidate blamed border patrol for the death of Alonzo, a report from the internal watchdog at the Department of Homeland Security cleared the agents on duty of any fault in the child’s death. The inspector general noted that all protocols were followed when caring for Alonzo and Maquin and claimed the largest problem the agents faced was historic overcrowding at the southern border.
To address the overcrowding, President Trump negotiated with Mexico to force migrants to apply for asylum in Mexico before entering the U.S.
