Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump blamed his political opponents' immigration policies Wednesday for the drowning deaths of a migrating father and daughter, saying the policies are the reason they were traveling across the river in the first place.

Speaking to reporters at the White House before departing for Japan, Trump suggested that tougher immigration policies would deter future families from attempting to cross into the US, though his administration's harsh measures, including the separation of families, have done little to stem the flow of illegal immigration to the US.

"I hate it," Trump said. "That father, who probably was this wonderful guy, with his daughter, things like this wouldn't happen."

The shocking image shows the bodies of Oscar Alberto Martínez and his 23-month-old daughter, Angie Valeria, from El Salvador, lying face down in murky waters littered with reeds and discarded beer bottles on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. Their heads are wrapped in a black T-shirt, and her tiny right arm is draped over his shoulders.

The pair drowned Sunday as they were crossing from Mexico into Texas near Brownsville. The man's widow, Tania, told the Mexican newspaper La Jornada she saw her husband and child carried away.

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