Donald Trump has blamed Democrats for the recent deaths of two children at the US-Mexico border in a series of tweets.

The US president said that he was “waiting in the White House” for his political opponents to strike a deal on his plan to build a border wall, as the government shutdown triggered by his refusal to budge on the issue stretched into its second week.

“Any deaths of children or others at the Border are strictly the fault of the Democrats and their pathetic immigration policies that allow people to make the long trek thinking they can enter our country illegally,” he tweeted.

It comes after the deaths of two young Guatemalan children in US government custody. The Department of Homeland Security has said that, following the deaths, it was implementing more thorough initial and follow-up medical screenings for migrants. Homeland security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has admitted that the Customs and Border Protection agency is “clearly overwhelmed” and that the state of affairs there is a “humanitarian crisis”.

But on Saturday Mr Trump – tweeting from the White House having cancelled a festive trip to Florida – defended the border agencies. He said: “The two children in question were very sick before they were given over to Border Patrol. The father of the young girl said it was not their fault, he hadn’t given her water in days.

“Border Patrol needs the Wall and it will all end. They are working so hard & getting so little credit!”

The comment, made amid a stream of political jabs, was the first public statement from the president about the deaths of eight-year-old Felipe Gomez Alonzo, who died in New Mexico on Christmas Eve, and Jakelin Caal, seven, who died earlier this month in Texas. The circumstances around their deaths are being investigated.

The shutdown has left hundreds of thousands of government workers on furlough, or unpaid leave, and many government services will be unavailable, although some, like the FBI and Border Patrol, will continue working.

The Independent goes on a ride-along with US Border Patrol Show all 15 1 /15 The Independent goes on a ride-along with US Border Patrol The Independent goes on a ride-along with US Border Patrol Texas and Mexico are connected by entry points like these. US Border Patrol in Laredo, Texas conducts daily patrols throughout the Rio Grande, snaking between the US and Mexico, where it searches for migrants and drug traffickers. The legal entry point to Mexico can be seen above the riverines frequently used by cartels to funnel narcotics into the US. Chris Riotta The Independent goes on a ride-along with US Border Patrol US Customs and Border Protection oversees its side of the entry point. US Customs and Border Protection officers oversee the processing of nearly two million trucks and three million pedestrians annually at the Laredo sector, which also processes the majority of trade between the US and Mexico. Chris Riotta The Independent goes on a ride-along with US Border Patrol The Rio Grande snakes between Mexico and the United States. The US and Mexico have bordering coastlines in Laredo Texas, where the Rio Grande's occasionally rough currents splash onto both nations' shores. For migrants attempting to enter into either country, the swim is much more dangerous than it appears. Chris Riotta The Independent goes on a ride-along with US Border Patrol Drug traffickers and migrants use "highways" to cross the border. US Border Patrol agents call worn pathways like these "highways," as they are frequently used by drug traffickers and migrants entering into the US. Chris Riotta The Independent goes on a ride-along with US Border Patrol The journey is still far from over. If they're able to make it onto land, many obstacles still remain for migrants and drug traffickers. US Border Patrol agents are equipped with high-tech security, K-9 units and aerial camera footage surveilling 40 miles of borderlands. Chris Riotta The Independent goes on a ride-along with US Border Patrol Border Patrol uses classic methods and high-tech to surveil the border. A control room at the Laredo sector headquarters is fully-manned 24/7 with a team of local employees who alert agents on the ground of border crossings in real-time. Their cameras live-stream 40 miles of the 170 mile territory the sector covers. Chris Riotta The Independent goes on a ride-along with US Border Patrol The US provides trusted traveler programs on both its southern and northern borders. Officers lead the way to Sentri offices, which runs a trusted traveller program from US and Mexican local residents who regularly cross the border for work or leisure purposes. Chris Riotta The Independent goes on a ride-along with US Border Patrol The pathway to freedom. Once travellers are processed, they walk up this ramp towards the US. Many Mexicans cross the border each day with collapsable shopping carts to buy goods while visiting the country. Chris Riotta The Independent goes on a ride-along with US Border Patrol But first, the wait. A dog waits for their owner to go through processing with US Customs and Border Patrol. On a good day, processing can take under an hour. On a bad day, well, there's just no telling how long one might be stuck inside the Laredo sector field offices. Chris Riotta The Independent goes on a ride-along with US Border Patrol The first lady of CBP. Inside the Laredo field offices, US Border Patrol agents keep a framed photo of Christine Davis, the first female agent to join the federal agency in 1975. Chris Riotta The Independent goes on a ride-along with US Border Patrol "The hall of fame." US Border Patrol also honors those who have served in the agency for over thirty years. Chris Riotta The Independent goes on a ride-along with US Border Patrol Officers inspect a vehicle in secondary processing. Outside, officers are conducting secondary inspection on a vehicle that's been pulled aside for further investigating. Chris Riotta The Independent goes on a ride-along with US Border Patrol The waiting room for detained migrants. A US Customs and Border Protection officer shows the inside of a holding room where people requiring further questioning go through secondary processing. Chris Riotta The Independent goes on a ride-along with US Border Patrol A man and his daughter go through processing. US Customs and Border Protection also regularly provides humanitarian visas and other temporary permissions for people with valid reasons seeking entry to the US. Here, a father and his daughter await to see whether they will be provided one of those visas. Chris Riotta The Independent goes on a ride-along with US Border Patrol Laredo processes over three million pedestrians annually. Thousands of legal asylum seekers, migrants and refugees seek entry to the US through the southern border annually, where they go through processing at offices like this after arriving at a legal port of entry. For many, the trip can take days, if not weeks or even months. Chris Riotta

It began after Mr Trump demanded $5bn (£4bn) to construct a wall on the US border with Mexico, which Democrats have said they will not support. During his presidential campaign Mr Trump repeatedly insisted Mexico would be forced to foot the bill for the wall.

In a set-piece Oval Office meeting with Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi earlier this month, the president claimed he would “own” the shutdown and be “proud” to have put government business on hold in the cause of improving border security. Since then, however, he has frequently blamed his political opponents for the impasse.

Government shutdowns happen fairly regularly, even as recently as January of this year. However, analysts suggest this one may not be resolved quickly; Democratic members of congress have showed no signs of agreeing to fund the wall and White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said on Friday that “we are far apart”. Republican John Mulvaney said that Democrats are not negotiating, adding: “There’s not a single Democrat talking to the president of the United States about this deal.”

The White House had offered to accept $2.5bn (£2bn) for border security, but neither Mr Trump nor Ms Pelosi and Mr Schumer have agreed to accept that offer. “Now we have to do it the hard way, with a Shutdown. Too bad!” Mr Trump tweeted on Saturday.

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