Donald Trump has said “much can be learned” from Australia’s controversial policies on illegal immigration following the the deaths of a migrant father and his toddler daughter who drowned while trying to reach US soil.
The US president tweeted out a series of Australian government illegal immigration policy posters that read “no way, you will not make Australia home” and “Australia’s borders are closed to illegal immigration.”
He captioned the tweet: “These flyers depict Australia’s policy on Illegal Immigration. Much can be learned!”
Australia’s harsh “stop the boats” policies have gained international attention in recent years.
Refugee boats are forcibly turned around to prevent them landing on the country’s shores and asylum seekers are sent to detention camps on remote Pacific islands.
Even if these asylum seekers are found to be refugees, they are not allowed to be settled in Australia.
The Nauru and Papua New Guinea camps where they can be settled are said to be totally inadequate by rights group who cite poor hygiene, cramped conditions, unrelenting heat and a lack of facilities.
The pair drowned on the banks of the Rio Grande after trying to cross the border illegally once they learned they were far down a list of hundreds of migrants waiting to be interviewed.
The photos, captured by journalist Julia Le Duc and first published by Mexican newspaper La Jornada, show their bodies lying face-down near the riverbank.
Valeria's arm was draped around her father's neck, suggesting she clung to him in their final moments.
Mr Trump said he was “disturbed” by the photos but added that his opposition party were at fault, before castigating Democrats for failing to pass legislation he claimed would stop people from trying to make the dangerous trek.
His comments followed approval by the Republican-controlled US Senate of a bill to send aid to the border with Mexico as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she hoped the images would challenge the Trump administration's conscience over the plight of Central American migrants.
In a tweet Mr Trump said: "If we had the right laws, that the Democrats are not letting us have, those people, they wouldn't be coming up. They wouldn't be trying.
"They can change it very easily so people don't come up and people won't get killed."
Mr Trump also tweeted that the Democrats should "change the Loopholes and Asylum Laws so lives will be saved at our Southern Border".
He added: "Now they admit that I was right - But they must do something about it. Fix the Laws NOW!"
