Beto O'Rourke says 'Trump is responsible' for migrant deaths shown in graphic photo

After the publication of a graphic photo showing two migrant deaths at the border, former congressman Beto O'Rourke took aim at President Trump.

A disturbing picture of Salvadoran migrants, Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his 23-month-old daughter, lying in shallow water at the Rio Grande was published by The Associated Press on Tuesday after originating from the Mexican newspaper La Jornada, and it quickly gained viral attention. Ramírez and his wife and daughter had reportedly tried swimming across the river because his family could not request asylum. The Trump administration has limited the number of migrants who can request asylum per day.

O'Rourke in response placed the blame right on Trump, linking to the Associated Press story while writing, "Trump is responsible for these deaths." He also said that the administration's refugee policy comes "at the expense of our humanity, not to the benefit of our safety."

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Other 2020 Democrats similarly spoke out on the photo while not being quite as direct as O'Rourke, with Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) writing that denying asylum to families fleeing violence is "inhumane" and that "this is a stain on our moral conscience," while former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro called the photo "absolutely heartbreaking" and called for immigration reform.

The White House hasn't commented on the photo, but Trump on Wednesday morning tweeted that Democrats "want Open Borders, which equals violent crime, drugs and human trafficking."