Donald Trump has quoted a right-wing newspaper's anonymous source who made an entirely unsubstantiated claim that "prayer mats" had been found at the US-Mexico border.

In an apparent attempt to stir up Islamophobic sentiment in his ongoing effort to secure funding for his wall along the southern border, the president used an early morning tweet to refer to a story in conservative publication The Washington Examiner.

"Border rancher: 'We’ve found prayer rugs out here. It’s unreal.' Washington Examiner," he wrote, referring to the headline of the story before adding, "People coming across the Southern Border from many countries, some of which would be a big surprise."

The tweet arrived as Mr Trump refuses to budge on his demands for $5.7bn to be included in the next federal spending bill to go towards his campaign promise of a wall stretching the entirety of the US-Mexico border — a battle that has spurred the longest government shutdown in American history. The newly-elected Democratic Congress has also refused to back down over its rejection of the president’s demands.

Mr Trump — who has regularly railed against major news outlets as the ‘fake news media’ and regularly downplays anonymous sources leaking information from his White House — faced immediate backlash over the apparent hypocrisy in sharing the unsubstantiated claims.

The controversial tweet was just the latest suggestion from the president that Muslims were flocking into the country from the nation’s southern border, following previous claims that terrorists and members of ISIS were included in the thousands of refugees and migrants forming caravans from Latin American countries to safely travel to the US.

“Ranchers and farmers near the US-Mexico border have been finding prayer rugs on their properties in recent months, according to one rancher who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation by cartels who move the individuals,” the story begins, going on to explain that “mats are pieces of carpet that those of the Muslim faith kneel on as they worship.”

"There’s a lot of people coming in not just from Mexico," the anonymous rancher reportedly told the publication. "People, the general public, just don’t get the terrorist threats of that. That’s what’s really scary. You don’t know what’s coming across. We’ve found prayer rugs out here. It’s unreal. It’s not just Mexican nationals that are coming across."

The president has previously implored his supporters to avoid reading any articles attributing quotes to unnamed officials, writing on Twitter in August of last year, “Anytime you see ‘anonymous source,’ stop reading the story, it is fiction!”

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

The notion that ISIS or other terror groups could be operating near the US-Mexico border is a rightwing conspiracy theory that has been routinely debunked since the rumours became popular fodder amongst conservative circles beginning in 2014, when a Republican lawmaker took to Fox News to claim ISIS militants were being apprehended during border crossings.

Mr Trump’s tweet also arrived after a explosive report in BuzzFeed News claimed the president had instructed his longtime former personal lawyer Michael Cohen to lie during his Congressional testimony about a Trump Tower deal in Moscow he was reportedly exploring throughout the 2016 presidential campaign.