On Saturday, at the G20 in Osaka, Japan, Donald Trump claimed that a border wall would’ve saved the lives of a father and young daughter who tragically drowned while trying to enter the U.S. illegally.

As reported by CNN, Trump insisted that illegal immigration isn’t fair to those who come into the country via its immigration system:

“You have millions of people on line for years to get into a country. They take tests, they study…and these people have worked hard, they’ve been on line for seven, eight, nine years, then someone walks in. Honestly, it’s very unfair.”

But if a wall were built, the President contended, a man and his little girl would never have succumbed to the waters of the Rio Grande:

“The father and the beautiful daughter who drowned…if they thought it was hard to get in, they wouldn’t be coming up. … Lives would be saved.”

23-month-old Valeria Ramírez lost her life, as did her dad, Óscar, 25.

The photo of the two lying facedown on a bank came to national attention courtesy of Julia Le Duc, a journalist who claims they attempted legal entry but were denied asylum.

Oscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his daughter, Valeria, A father who went to seek asylum and was denied it at the ports of entry by our government. He drowned with his daughter wrapped in his shirt, her arms around his neck trying to find another way. KNOW THEIR NAMES! 💔 pic.twitter.com/Ga7OaVo88N — StanceGrounded (@_SJPeace_) June 27, 2019

The duo initially crossed the waterway safely.

From The Daily Caller:

The 25-year-old father first swam with his daughter across the river into Brownsville. However, when he went back for his [23-year-old wife, Tania], the young girl leaped into the river after her dad. [Oscar] swam back to grab her, but both ended up getting caught in the river’s currents.

Whether or not a wall would’ve saved a father and his little girl, we clearly have a problem at the border. And Rosa Ramírez — Oscar’s mother — doesn’t want to see anyone else dying amid the crisis.

As for crossing the river, she told the BBC:

“Don’t try this. I know that in this country, everything is very difficult, but our lives are more valuable.”

-ALEX

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