Warren in Christmas tweet slams CBP for treatment of detainees

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a top Democratic presidential candidate, criticized the Trump administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in a Christmas day tweet over the “cruel treatment” of migrants. 

Warren referenced in her tweet the death of Felipe Gómez Alonzo, an 8-year-old migrant who died on Christmas Eve last year. 

“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,” Warren tweeted. 

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

A CBP spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) internal watchdog cleared immigration officials of any misconduct or wrongdoing related to Felipe’s death in a statement released last week. 

Felipe crossed the border with his father and was later taken to a hospital in Alamogordo, N.M., with a cold. He was found to have a fever of 103 degrees, but he was released from the hospital at 3 p.m. Felipe began vomiting later and died around midnight. 

Warren and other Democrats have been criticizing the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies for months. 

On Monday, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), the chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, asked the Department of Homeland Security for documents related to deaths on the southern border. 

In her letter to DHS, Maloney referenced the death in May of Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez, a 16-year-old from Guatemala who died after being held for six days by CBP. 

She argued the holding of Vasquez violated CBP’s own standards. Detainees are supposed to be held in the facility where Vasquez was held for no more than 72 hours.