White House Rejects Responsibility for Death of Migrant Child in US Custody - Spokesperson
The Trump administration does not take responsibility for the death of a 7-year-old girl in US immigration custody, White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley told reporters on Friday.
"Does the administration take responsibility for a parent taking a child on a trek through Mexico to get to this country? No," Gidley said when asked if the administration is taking any responsibility for the child's death.
The Washington Post reported on Thursday that a 7-year-old Guatemalan girl died of dehydration and exhaustion last week after she was taken into custody by US Customs and Border Protection for crossing the border illegally with her father.
Gidley said that it was a "senseless, needless" death that is "hundred percent preventable."
The White House expresses its condolence to the family of the child and to anyone who has suffered any type of danger and peril on the trek to the US border, he added.
US Democrats in Congress must join the president to pass legislation to disincentivize migrants from crossing the border legally, Gidley said.
The situation at the US-Mexican border has been tense since October when hundreds of Central American migrants started moving in the direction of the United States through the Mexican territory.