Why a BuzzFeed story caused Trump to totally freak out on Easter

President Trump tweeted early Monday morning that “our country is being stolen” thanks to illegal immigrants and weak Democrats — just one in a string of angry tweets criticizing Mexico and U.S. border policy that started on Easter Sunday.

“Border Patrol Agents (and ICE) are GREAT, but the weak Dem laws don't allow them to do their job. Act now Congress, our country is being stolen!” Trump tweeted.

The president sent a string of tweets on Sunday and Monday berating Democrats for not doing enough for DACA, and demanding that the country get stricter on border laws. His tirade began after he reportedly watched a “Fox and Friends” segment on Sunday in which conservative commentator Tomi Lahren urged the U.S. to build a wall to keep out a “caravan” of over 1,000 migrants fleeing deadly crime in Honduras.

“We can have compassion for these people, but it doesn’t mean the laws don’t matter — Americans come first,” Lahren said on the show.

Just a few minutes later, Trump tweeted that “caravans” are coming and that “Republicans must go to Nuclear Option to pass tough laws NOW.”

“These big flows of people are all trying to take advantage of DACA,” Trump tweeted. “They want in on the act!”

The “big flows of people” Trump is referring to is a group of 1,000-some immigrants who are travelling from Central America into the U.S., organized by a group of volunteers called Pueblos Sin Fronteras, or People Without Borders, BuzzFeed News reported. They’re using their size for safety, organizers told BuzzFeed News, to give immigration authorities and criminals pause before they attempt to stop the immigrants from travelling north.

Trump used this as an opportunity to demonize Democrats for not doing enough on DACA. However, it doesn’t appear that these immigrants have any interest in taking advantage of DACA — they told BuzzFeed News they’re hoping American authorities will grant them asylum. Furthermore, even if they did want to take advantage of DACA, they can’t.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program allows some illegal immigrants who entered the country as minors to receive permission to stay in the country for two years without being deported. But the deadline to extend the program came and went on March 5 and new arrivals aren’t eligible for DACA. The DACA program currently exists only to cover those who are already enrolled in the program.

Trump continued his Twitter spree against the “caravan” of immigrants on Monday morning, tweeting that DACA died at the hands of Democrats who “didn’t care or act.” He then demanded that the country builds a wall, and threatened to use NAFTA negotiations to bully Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto to enforce his country's immigration laws more aggressively.

“Mexico is making a fortune on NAFTA,” Trump tweeted Monday morning. “They have very strong border laws - ours are pathetic. With all of the money they make from the U.S., hopefully they will stop people from coming through their country and into ours, at least until Congress changes our immigration laws!”

Cover image: U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up while walking on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, March 29, 2018. (Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)