Hundreds of people seeking asylum or attempting to enter illegally into our country (also to Europe) die every year, including many children. Over 50,000 migrants and asylum seekers have died since 2000.
Shame on those who only care depending on who the President is.
Truly reprehensible.
6
Why would a child be discharged from a hospital with a high fever to sent back into such horrible conditions? Antibiotics are useless against viral infections. If a child is vomiting and can't keep them down, they are not even good for bacterial infections.
We can do better than this on every level. We have done much better with fewer resources and we have had dark eras we hide in shame. This seems like another episode on which we will look back in shame.
6
The USA is simply not responsible for the health of seven billion non-Americans, including non-Americans who fling themselves over our border. -- and not for the children whose parents fling them over the border -- that responsibility falls squarely on the parents.
The USA can take reasonable measures to help and to investigate -- but the supposed "plight" of foreigners does not require us to open our borders nor to spend extraordinary funds to guarantee their health.
If U,S, law supposedly says otherwise, the law needs to be changed.
If "international law" supposedly says otherwise, the USA should renounce/withdraw from the treaties and "conventions" which supposedly say so.
8
Border agents should not be required to provide healthcare, but they should know first aid and how to recognize if someone is ill, regardless of age. They should be required to have that person assessed promptly by a doctor or other practitioner.
Do these facilities not have a nurse or physician's assistant on duty? If not, why not?
2
There has been much consternation over the fact that 62 million people voted for Trump. Who would vote for someone so morally deficient? Why?? The answer is plain to see, right here: Individualism run amok. Where it's all about me, my position, my dominance. "What would Jesus do?" How quaint an idea, how irrelevant.
7
@childofsol
As a non-Christian, I could care less what the Pope or any other Christrian leader says about "migrants'.
Further, since you seem to relish invoking supposed Christian "values" to support an open-borders agenda, you need to direct your attention to the 20-plus Latin American countries -- all steeped in Christianity -- with the Pope himself hailing from Argentina -- maybe he ought to prevail upon Argentina to take in these "migrants" -- and maybe you can get yourself worked up to urge him to do so.
6
For both of these children, I am sure that this was the first doctor, courtesy of CPB, they had ever seen. Until the autopsy data is released we will not know what sort of medical problem these children had. I am sure the long journey from Guatemala to the Tiajuana was not healthy nor was their stay in Tiajuana.
However, the blame for their deaths rests on the shoulders of their parents, not CPB or ICE.
To solve this problem we should not be accepting children from the Northern Triangle into the US. Who knows what parasites or diseases lay hidden. We must return them either immediately either to their country of origin or to the migrant camp in Tiajuana.
Since Refuges from overseas undergo all the necessary screening and testing in their current location, we should consider having the same process available in Central America. We can have these people go to the nearest US consulate and make application for asylum there instead of trekking all the way to the US border. All the necessary paperwork can be done there and any hearing can be conducted by a consular official or a DHS representative as is done overseas.
14
The border, and immigration, comprise a serious problem and require serious attention, not short-term or quixotic ("the wall") stabs at solutions.
The United States cannot absorb every human being that wants to come here; but neither can we ignore those seeking asylum from terrible problems in Nicaragua and Guatemala that previous administrations of our own government have caused, or contributed to.
I don't know what the solution is. Maybe the U.S. and Mexico could find a cooperative way to deal with this? It appears that Mexico has, at least, been trying to address it.
Meanwhile, "the wall" is not a solution. It would be a costly environmental disaster, and wouldn't prevent desperate people from trying to get in to the country.
3
The thousands of business owners that hire illegals, the churches and cities and states that offer "Sanctuary" that enables illegals to stay in the USA and so encourages millions more to enter and overstay visas illegally, the major media and economist priesthood paid by our greedy for slave labor and more customer 'bodies' 1% AND the selfish and cowardly parents of these children, that use them as hostages and shields to invade our nation - instead of staying home and working to make their societies decent places to live are responsible for 100's of deaths a year of foreigners invading across our southern border.
10
A sad NYT report. Still no coverage in US & Cda about how US & Cda contribute to & benefit from the causes of why 10s of 1000s of Hondurans & Guatemalans flee every year, going back years, no end in sight going forward. (See: "U.S. & Canada helping produce refugee flight from Honduras & Guatemala", https://mailchi.mp/rightsaction/refugee-producing-international-community) Solamente. Grahame Russell, Rights Action
1
It's a good thing for us that the native peoples did not have immigration controls and caps when the pilgrims arrived! "Send us your tired, your poor, your people yearning to be free" needs to be sand blasted away from the Statute of Liberty.
4
@Judith No sand blasting. I'm surprised trump boy hasn't walled the Statue of Liberty.
2
On Christmas!
What have we learnt since Herod persecuted Jesus + his family?
Would the Holy Family today be separated at the border + Jesus would die in a detention center as a child?
5
Another mendacious headline about a child whose father dragged him across multiple countries and thousands of miles in order to brazenly exploit our porous borders. They entered illegally and should have been deported immediately.
Instead, Americans are being held responsible, financially and otherwise, for the welfare of these foreign invaders, many of whom are in need of medical care that our own citizens can barely afford to provide for themselves. And now the ambulance-chasing lawyers will be lining up to file a lawsuit against the US on behalf of the child’s family. Outrageous!
20
@Shenoa
Something tells me Shenoa is aware of the facts. (When somebody knows they are not telling the truth, what do we call it?) The facts in brief are:
Mr. Trump's New Jersey golf club has hired many such immigrants.
Our own laws require us to consider each and every application for asylum. Applying for asylum is a legal right.
Our borders aren't porous. Our border security was already very good before Trump was elected.
According to the CBO, these immigrants pay more into the system than they ever get back in government and medical benefits.
Citizens can't afford health care because, for instance, the Trump Republicans are sabotaging the ACA.
For two decades, over-land immigration had declined.
But, since Trump became president, over-land immigration has gone up.
His brutal, punitive and racist immigration polices aren't even working.
5
Shame, shame, shame on us for allowing this cruel tyrant and his toadies to be elected. And shame, shame, shame on Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, and every Republican congressperson for refusing to do their sworn duty to protect this country and our constitution by getting rid of Trump immediately.
9
You know what would solve this problem? People abiding by the law of the USA. Stop border jumping and come here legally. Mexico offered asylum but they all refused it. Why put this blame on anyone but the parent for ripping their families out of their own country and making a mad dash for our borders? Sick and tired of the blame game, oh it's Trumps fault, oh it's ICE's fault it's the American peoples fault, No No No, it's not. Build the wall, provide access points for legal entry and lets get back to being a sovereign nation of laws and balances. No other major nation in the world will let you come in illegally, break their laws and then let you walk, try it in China or Russia.
22
@Sastac1
Yes. By all means. Let's be just like the exemplary nations of China and Russia.
The pertinent facts will almost certainly make no difference to the willfully blind and the maliciously dishonest.
All the same, for posterity here they are:
Mr. Trump's New Jersey golf club has hired many such immigrants.
Our own laws require us to consider each and every application for asylum. Applying for asylum is a legal right.
All of the free democratic nations of the world have such asylum laws.
Our borders aren't porous. Our border security was already very good before Trump was elected.
According to the CBO, these immigrants pay more into the system than they ever get back in benefits.
Citizens can't afford health care because, for instance, the Trump Republicans are sabotaging the ACA.
For two decades, over-land immigration had declined.
But, since Trump became president, over-land immigration has gone up.
My goodness. These brutal, punitive and racist immigration polices aren't even working.
3
Somehow I doubt that this matters to trump.
4
Has Trump met with the leaders of the “South American Triad” to try and solve this problem at its source? I thought he was a master negotiator? Maybe Trump needs to read his own book that he “wrote”.
3
These kids who died could easily have been very sick before they crossed our border. A myriad of problems cause high fever, vomiting and symptoms of a common cold: Meningitis, Dengue, Zika, septicemia, kidney infection, parasite or amoebic colonization, there's a long list. People do not normally die of a common cold but they do die of diseases that manifest like that.
After trekking 1,000 miles in unsanitary, harsh conditions with bad food, contaminated water, overcrowding and perhaps pre-existing health problems from Guatemala that we don't know about, it is a miracle that more are not dying after crossing the border into the US.
18
@EMT -- How do you know how many are dying? Even the Secretary of Homeland Security couldn't give a number.
2
@dmkdc, Well there are two that we know about that I am discussing here.
4
Charge the parent with the death of the child due to the childs death being a direct result of the parent breaking the law.
17
It would be a good idea for border staff to be told about possible illnesses or outbreaks that may be occurring in the immigrants' original countries.
6
What is Child Protective Services doing about the deaths of two children in the custody of our government?
3
Obama’s pilot program, Trump cancelled, to deal with South America asylum seekers. “According to the Inspector General report, overall compliance in the five cities where the pilot was launched was 99 percent for ICE check-ins and appointments, and 100 percent for attendance in court hearings. Just 2 percent of participants absconded during the process”
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiS4seSjr7fAhUo9IMKHebIDzMQzPwBegQIARAC&url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/immigration-border-crisis/obama-era-pilot-program-kept-asylum-seeking-migrant-families-together-n885896&psig=AOvVaw1u14BT1n4orUBvwscNJFxs&ust=1545934826208026
2
Oh, my, to all the respondents here who are castigating the "irresponsible" migrant parents who are "abusing" their children and risking their lives to gain entry to the U.S.:
How many of you regale your children and grandchildren with the tales of bravery and desperation that your very own ancestors endured to bring their own children here--from Ireland, eastern Europe, the Middle East, and other places around the globe?
How was it different for them? Were their children more worthy? Deserving? Were the conditions harsher? More dangerous? Was the American dream more special for them?
Even if your ancestors arrived on the Mayflower, shame on you.
13
@Jan Back in the Ellis Islands days we would not accept immigrants who were ill or who had TB(very high incident in those days). If potential immigrants failed the health check, they were put on the next boat back to their home country. This is a practice we should have in place now - who knows what internal parasites or diseases they had.
7
judyweller, if and when you find yourself ill and in need of help and mercy from strangers, may you find more kindness, understanding and good will in others than you have for these people, who face conditions desperate enough for them to flee their countries and face hardships that you most likely will never have to endure.
4
@Jan They came here legally, did not break US laws
It's high time we reconsider policies such as 'sanctuary cities', 'catch an release', 'prosecutorial discretion', and 'DACA' which only act as a magnet for economic migrants to head 'al norte' and risk life and limb...As tragic as these deaths are, CBP is not to blame.
13
I’ve been told my many immigrants who think I’m an immigrant that Americans, and Canadians, are are very naive and believe everything they are told. That’s why they come here with sad stories.
13
My city is a sanctuary city and I respect the rights of people to not be asked for papers and the lawful entry into our country.We need immigration reform. The process of border control needs to be analyzed and updated. This is not about amnesty- its about reform. These children's tragedies may have occurred as a result of the rigors and stresses of a journey that the overall health of a young child could not surmount. In this case, they did give him antibiotics.. who knows what kind of supervision and food intake he had along the journey which preceeded his entry?? It is a sad tragedy, but ironically, New Mexico is last in child welfare- health , wellbeing & education- regarding the status of the children in our state. I have mixed feelings about all of this media attention.
5
From the CIA World Fact Book:
"Guatemala is a predominantly poor country that struggles in several areas of health and development, including infant, child, and maternal mortality, malnutrition, literacy, and contraceptive awareness and use. The country's large indigenous population is disproportionately affected."
Thus, it is to be expected that Guatemalan children are not likely to be in great health, especially after a grueling trip through Mexico.
So many who are posting here are not expressing sorrow, pity or compassion for a young boy who died. The grieving father rather than being consoled, it being criticized for taking his some along with him.
When one is fleeing grinding poverty and extreme violence, one takes desperate and even rash decisions.
Child immigrants fleeing Central America has been on the fed's radar since at least 2014. Back then unaccompanied minors was the norm.
It cannot be argued that border authorities were taken by surprise.
3
To all of you commenters who want to blame the parents of these children for wanting a better life for their family it might be worth your time to watch "ICEBOX". Which clearly shows some of the horrendous conditions these migrants are facing and their reasons for making the journey. It also shows the conditions of the ICE holding facilities. Sometimes it's best to think what your actions would be if the shoe was on the other foot.
2
Children are suffering--and now dying--due to the politically motivated inaction of adults. I hold the Trump administration accountable.
A simple saline IV would likely have saved both of these children. What is wrong with us that we would act in such a cruel manner? There will ultimately be a reckoning for all of us where we will be the ones in need, and the world will turn a cold shoulder towards us. We will deserve it.
3
I was watching CNN this morning, and they showed a timeline of events on the screen when the reporter was talking, leading up to the child's death (around 9am). One of the lines read "7:00pm - His Father Refused Further Medical Treatment". So why aren't we hearing more about this? I do not like what is going on at the border. But, having seen that timeline this morning, the father is to blame.
14
400 people die a year migrating to the USA outside U.S. custody , and we collectively can’t imagine a few might die within? That’s what I call a failure of imagination — and reason.
Until we find evidence of government malfeasance, I will consider these sensational stories that tell us very little.
3
So from now on the ambulance chasing lawyers will be stationed at our southern border looking for any slight infraction towards the treatment of the migrants who take one step on to US soil. This will not end well with litigious lawyers representing them and suing the federal government left and right.
Wait for it.
8
@ab--Great--if positioning a few "ambulance-chasing lawyers" at the border helps make border patrol and other officials more careful, and thus helps avoid further deaths, that would be a great step forward.
This alone would be grounds for impeachment - if only we had a true opposition party.
1
The NYTimes implies that the death of these 2 children is the fault of the border patrol. However, it is the fault of the parents (if they are the parents, sorry, but we know full well many are just using kids to cross). Both received care, but it is not fathomable that the US can be blamed for kids dying after walking hundreds or thousands of miles with little food and water; being exposed to illnesses from those walking with them. There is no magic that doctors can perform on these conditions. When we have new flu epidemics or other crisis because of thousands entering the country illegally, without preventative medical care, will we see an article in the NYTimes about the deaths of US citizens? I'm all for helping (action, not money) those South of the border living in poor conditions due to the utter failings of their governments and countrymen. But I'm not going to take on the guilt that the NYTimes continues to push daily.
17
Blaming border control agents, who did what was expected of them in regards to the situation at hand, is irresponsible.
Put the blame directly upon where it belongs, the parent(s). Who carelessly dragged their kids across Mexico so that they could gain entrance into the US easier.
Anyone claiming that they are real refugees are clearly not paying attention. These are economic country shoppers who could not be bothered to stop in Mexico. BTW, where is any of the blame upon Mexico? For letting them enter Mexico to begin with.
9
If their lives were truly in danger in Central America, why not stop and stay in Mexico? Why come all of the way to the US?
I think most of us know the answer to this.
11
Sorry leslie. My question was to the original poster.
As in almost all disasters there are number of contributing factors that add up to cause the event. Blaming CBT/ICE for what happened to the child is misplacing blame. From the NYT report it appears measures were taken to help the child on this side of the border. We don’t know what happened leading up to the crossing. The fact that we don’t have facilities or policies to handle surges in illegal entry lies with policy makers in DC. The decision to attempt the difficult journey with a child was the first mistake in hindsight - likely more errors were made along the way.
The problems in the countries sending illegal immigrants must be solved at home or a growing tide of these poor folks will inundate any wall Trump might want to build. However problem solving in foreign countries is a subject requiring much more time and ink.
While the US relys on continuing immigration, it must be legal. We cannot possibly absorb the millions of people from around the world who believe that if they somehow get here they can stay here.
28
@Buck
Agree!
6
Pretty unacceptable. In addition one of the main housers of the children has become a multi-billion dollar non-profit. Shame.
10
@JRoebuck, Housing for the migrants after they arrive, plus feeding and clothing and educating and providing medical care for them all adds up rather quickly, into the 10's of billions, annually, for these new arrivals. And does not subside for most migrants for generations. Free stuff costs the US taxpayers real money.
6
We get it now. Illegal aliens and their offspring have more rights to free health care than actual American citizens. This is what our country has come to. Sanctioning law breakers with free stuff, while Americans taxpayers foot the bill.
32
This is a tragic incident. But for my child to get antibiotics I have to pay a $25 co pay plus he cost of antibiotics. Again, this saddens me but the child was probably ill prior to being taken into custody.
8
@paul
First, you should understand that people can't be illegal, only their actions can be.
We would have to call citizens in penitentiaries "illegal citizens."
Second, foreigners don't have more rights to "free stuff" (whatever that means) or health care.
In fact, undocumented immigrants who are caught in this country go to jail. How is that being treated preferentially?
2
@paul
Your takeaway from this article suggests that our government should not give immigrants any healthcare, even if they are sick, even if they are dying. Are these men, women and children seeking asylum in this country less than human in your eyes? Are you volunteering to wash dishes in a restaurant or pick fruit in a field or wash clothes in a laundromat, because those are just some of the menial jobs immigrants obtain in this country?
2
“These people” share at least one characteristic with all of us; they are human beings. Whether they have committed a crime or not, they deserve the respect and treatment of that commonality. The day social and political establishments cannot deliver this, they are morally DOA.
12
Agreed. Christians celebrate the season of the birth of a child born in poverty. We are taught that his parents did not “belong” where they were at the time of his birth. There is nothing wrong with media outlets bringing this case to light in the hope that those (including congress) with the power to address any of the underlying causes of this child’s death (that come to light) will act out of a sense of decency, not ideology.
@HANK
They did give medical treatment and compassion. Better treatment than they would have received in their home country.
8
Instead of pouncing on the unfortunate deaths of these migrant children as a means of criticizing the Trump Administration's border policies, the press should use some perspective in examining the problem. Each of the last four administrations have struggled with what to do with undocumented children crossing the southern border, whether accompanied or not. The Trump and Obama administrations, in particular, have had to deal with housing thousands of unaccompanied minors, while investigating their bona fides and protecting them from predators. There must be some statistics on health issues as well. What are they? How has Congress responded legislatively to this problem? In addition to deportation, the Obama administration tried some in-country ways to prevent children being put into harm. How did that work out? The press should try some real reporting on this, not just highlighting individual stories which, however sad, do not uncover any greater truth about the problem.
15
@David Godinez, No telling how many children really died. Considering the numbers and conditions we do know of many more than just two children died. What about younger children, the toddlers? It just happened that the death of two children 7 & 8 years old became known. There must be many more we just don't know of.
I have to wonder if the healthcare personnel at the hospital are versed in common ailments in the migrants' home countries.
Case in point: malaria, commonly found in Guatemala, looks to many practitioners in malaria-free countries like the flu. Symptoms: fever, headache, body aches, cough, nausea & vomiting, confusion, convulsions, coma & death. Sound familiar? As high as 80% of malaria cases in the US are misdiagnosed as upper respiratory or GI disorders.
This may be a case of lack of disease awareness rather than casting blame on ICE.
19
If his parents hadn't brought him here, illegally, he would still be alive.
27
@Richard Fleishman
So not a tear for a small boy who died far away from home? No sympathy for a grieving father.
1
This story deserves a more prominent location in your paper. Children dying in our custody is something that NYT readers need to know about and address. Unfortunately, when there is a policy of treating those seeking asylum with disdain, children dying from neglect in border control custody is not surprising.
Also worthy of reporting, the Propublica story on sexual assaults in detention centers.
5
The Republican God Ronald Reagan legalized over 3 million illegal immigrants while in office. If he were today he would be the first critic of how we treat these people.
6
The Death Penalty, for Trespassing. Oh, well, it could have happened anyway, and anywhere. But, it did NOT. This is a perfect example of the sheer incompetence of this Regime. So called "Leaders " of Departments and Agency's that couldn't be hired at a mid-level Management position during " normal " Administrations, GOP or Democratic. Trumps entire
Management Team(s) couldn't properly run, Control or develop an average Convenience Store, or Fast food restaurant. Lackeys, spokesmodels and Hacks. Period. Businessman ? NO. Charlatan. Of the lifelong variety.
Thanks, GOP. 2020. I can hardly wait.
9
Terrible story. Send them back to their home country right away. I see no reason we should continue shouldering the costs for the detention, care and medical costs of illegal aliens.
23
What about the work houses? You are right, it’s best they die and decrease the surplus population.
4
@David
Yep, with Republicans, It's always about the $$$.
GOP... Greed over People.
After Jakelin Caal's death, there was an autopsy. So far we haven't heard the results. This death is very similar, child with some respiratory problems reported, fever, vomits, is dead within a day or so.
Instead of everybody going to the ramparts to argue about migration and the Border Patrol, could we at least have someone somewhere who is interested in whether the cause is communicable or infectious disease? Hanta maybe?
In neither case did it seem that the authorities, once informed of the illness, did anything that breached protocol or were not timely. In Jakelin Caal's case, EMS was there within 10 minutes of being called, and used an airlift, and there had been an EMT on site before that.
While we're solving the political questions at the border, and whether these deaths could have been avoided without the venal "metering" policies at ports of entry, somebody needs to do the not-so-ready-for-politics investigation to find out whether there is something unsafe along the route to the New Mexico border.
9
@ondelette My first thought, as well - if the kids arrived sick, that doesn't make it their fault. We can't shrug it off and exonerate ourselves. We have to identify the source and figure out how to deal with a communicable disease in these huge, cold, unhealthy holding centers. We are completely unprepared to handle an epidemic of anything at all, let alone an unknown killer virus or bacteria.
Another cause which isn't even mentioned in this article, is the questionable water supply. NPR reported that some staff at these centers will not drink or bathe in the water.
3
When you enter a country illegally you are placing your family at risk. There will be casualties. I don’t care. I want that wall built and I demand enhanced border security! Do it now! Shut the government down and keep it shut until the wall is fully funded. As a taxpayer the US governments first obligation is to protect its citizens, not pander to democrats. Build the wall, lock her up and God bless President Trump!
19
Great, maybe only you should pay for it, because I don’t want to. The GOP had the whole legislature and they didn’t see fit to fund it, why should the new majority. What was that phrase after 2016? Oh yeah, elections have consequences.
1
It is becoming painfully obvious to people around the world that these U.S. customs people are treating these migrants like animals; or worse. The fact that 2 young children have died due to what amounts to complete indifference to their suffering reflects a cold hearted approach to those in distress. In the Christmas season; it is hard not to think of baby Jesus in the crib; and Herod considering him to be a threat and a problem that needs to be dealt with harshly. SHAME!
2
@Greg Hodges
Please spare the tears and nonsense. My suggestion is if you are so concerned, go to the border and start spending your OWN money and time helping these people. But do it on the southern side of the border. As a taxpayer and law abiding citizen of the US, I demand that wall to be fully funded and built. Amen!
16
@Greg Hodges
There was not " complete indifference"....go back and re-read the articles on both.
4
A Country that cannot ensure an 8-year-old migrant, innocent, child's safety---is worthless....
8
@That's what she said
Ah no, the US taxpaying citizen has no obligation to protect foreign citizens. Unfortunately people make poor choices. Please quit being a victim and take responsibility.
17
An eight year old whose healthiness before departing their home country is unknown, a place where healthcare is nearly nonexistent, where communicable diseases are common, who then undertook a long and difficult trip across several countries, arrived here suffering possible medical distress. We need to find a solution to the problem of such migration which has existed for decades but immediately blaming federal agencies isn’t one of them.
11
@That's what she said you mean Guatemala, the country they are running away from right because they are not safe there?
Concentration camps? Seriously? These facilities are likely to be the finest accommodations that these illegal immigrants have ever had. Leave it to the NYT’s to suggest otherwise and to blame President Trump. Shame on you.
21
By Merriam Webster Dictionary: Definition of concentration camp. : a camp where persons (such as prisoners of war, political prisoners, or refugees) are detained or confined.
1
Looks like Jesus couldn’t find room at the inn or in the manger. So much for humanity with this current administration’s policies. Through my work in Guatemala I have seen the dire poverty and fear for safety that drives people to the US. Starve in place, get shot by Maras, or flee for safety with your young children. And then go freeze in an icebox.
13
NYT: We need journalistic integrity here. There is now a community of people at our southern border w/ the following characteristics: all ages, recently arrived from a very long and arduous journey, many ( most) w/out appropriate fluids and food during the journey, people w/ no previous healthcare, people w/ no "usual" vaccinations that are routine in the US, people from areas that have certain endemic diseases in the populations ( that are neither screened for, nor previously treated). Some ( not all) of the questions I would like to see addressed:
1. What is the prevalence in the populations in Central America of malaria, parasitic infections, chronic viral infections ( eg. HIV, HBV, HCV), untreated Tuberculosis?
2. Are there any recent outbreaks of cholera, meningitis, etc. in the migrants?
3. What is the prevalence of multi-drug resistant infections in the migrants?
All 3 of these contributes to a high morbidity and mortality rate anywhere, as does extremes of ages. Isn't his why there is an orderly, legal process for immigration into a country ( so that people can be properly/effectively screened and treated upon entry).
23
@coloradofarmer, There is also a new type of disease affecting children in the US that is similar to the polio virus. Could it be related to mass migration? Possibly.
7
@JM I think you may be referring to an illness in pediatric patients that has a paralysis associated w/ it, very similar to that of Poliomyelitis. I am not a Pediatrician, and have not seen any cases firsthand - however, there have been several at the Children's Hospital in Denver, CO ( and other reported cases across the country). I am not aware of any correlation w/ mass migration, but I am also not up on the latest epidemiology and research - will defer to the CDC and my Pediatrics colleagues for that.
1
@coloradofarmer, This polio like disease or condition is more common in places like India. There have been many public warnings about diseases like TB brought by visitors into the US from the continent of Asia and elsewhere. In particular at airports and places like theme parks. Also school kids on the west coast. We are admitting or allowing too many people into the US with un-diagnosed, potentially fatal, spreadable diseases.
5
Who is at fault?
The parent/guardian who brought the child from Guatemala and illegally crossed the Mexican border and US border.
21
@Kurt VanderKoi
So who cares if this innocent child dies?
You better hope there's no such thing as Karma, Kurt.
It's quite clear what we're seeing here - an extension of the attitude of Arizona's most cruel and notorious sheriff, who remains one of Donald Trump's heroes: Joe Arpaio. That attitude is: treat 'em like dirt in detention so they don't get into trouble again.
Trump appears to be ordering a policy of cruelty as a deterrent to stem the flow of people seeking asylum. However, it's quite clear from the steady flow of migrants that this policy is ineffective - things are so horrific in some neighboring countries that people are willing to tolerate almost anything for the hope of a safer future, or in many cases - the hope of not being slaughtered in cold blood.
Instead of billions for a wall to keep "those people" out of our country, why not spend those billions on humanitarian aid centers where immigrants can first be properly housed and cared for until their requests for asylum can be processed?
The reason is fear. There are far too many Americans who believe that treating someone like a human being somehow makes us weaker and more vulnerable. In fact, the opposite is true.
9
@TM no our fear is no treating someone else as a human being, our "fear" is that we might end up with another 20+ million illegals here in addition to the 20+ million we already have.
3
I understand these parents are fleeing violence and abhorrent conditions. They are desperate, and desperate times call for desperate actions. But these recent deaths of young children give me pause. This is a moral dilemma for our nation. On the one side we must question these parents' actions and wonder why. On the other hand we have to ask ourselves, Would we not do the same?
That being said, and like it or not, once these refugees set foot in our country, they are our responsibility. If we herd them like cattle into conditions which breed disease, the onus of care falls upon us. While a ruthless president and a spineless GOP Congress debates how many billions of dollars we tax payers must spend for border security, this tax payer demands that my share goes toward adequate health professionals to give the young and the old a chance to live..no matter which country their fate leads them to.
19
@Kathy Lollock, Then maybe we should re-examine allowing these refugees to even step one foot into our country? Why should the world's poor become entirely our responsibility alone? Do we not already neglect our own poor, children and elderly? Adding more is questionable.
6
@Kathy Lollock NO. Once they step into this country they have broken the law and are subject to the outcome. Frankly, if you are fleeing death (requisite of asylum), you are pretty happy in a detention center with food and water. If you are bringing a child, you must know you are risking both your own life and theirs. This is not a US responsibility and it is false for you to state that it is.
6
I am dismayed by the number of commenters castigating the desperate parents for subjecting their children to the dangerous conditions they face trying to reach the US. If you understood the nightmarish situation these people were fleeing, you would understand how they might consider the very risky trek worth making--especially with the children they were trying to protect. If you were born in a place where predatory violence, sexual assault and real poverty are pervasive, fleeing is the rational decision. Many of these people are leaving a place of no hope, risking all for the possibility of SOME hope. I don't know the answer, but blaming the refugees from the comfort of where we sit is heinous.
51
@ARNP
Obviously many of the GOP (Greed Over People) commenters here are worried that even one dollar of their taxes might get spent on a sick non citizen child.
Doesn't seem to bother them that Congress secretly paid out $17 MIL of our hard earned tax dollars for their sexual misconduct settlements.
So let the illegal immigrant child die, but don't hesitate to provide cover for these disgusting, depraved congressMEN (Dems and "Pub's)
Isn't America great?
1
When is enough, enough? I understand that trump followers are all for what he is doing, and I certainly don’t think open boarders are the answer, and nobody in the democratic leadership wants open boarders either, but locking these people up and not providing adequate care is just plain wrong and inexcusable. These people need to be processed and released, either into the United States or Mexico until their case is heard. And not a single sign of sympathy from Frump regarding an 8 year old little boy dying on Christmas Day. For some odd reason regarding a flaw in the brains of most republicans and Frump and his administration, Peace On Earth and Good Will Towards Man is not something they believe in or value. I can only offer my prayers and thoughts to this poor child and his family for what they have to suffer at the hands of our government and their employees
31
@David Parchert that had been the policy before. The result, while they are released in the US awaiting their court date they have a child who now is a US citizen and the case is moot. They effectivle y gamed the system. You might as well just open the border. That is why you are being accused of supporting open borders.
5
J. Marti, please back your assertion up with evidence. Those are talking points based in fear mongering, not fact.
2
@J. Marti you need to check the law on your assertion that a case is moot once the person has a child on US soil who is then a US citizen. The anchor baby is no guarantee of citizenship--as we have witnessed parents being deported & leaving behind their citizen-children. Ahh, the party of family values.
2
The facilities were not built for young children illegally entering the country. Why are adults subjecting young children to the hardship of an over thousand-mile trek and harsh conditions in the first place? To blame, or to imply blame, to border patrol agents without any knowledge of what these kids died from, or even how long they have been in custody, is irresponsible. It also impugns the integrity of our border patrol agents with no evidence to support it.
39
@Bailey T Dog...once the children are taken into custody, they are 100% the responsibility of the US govt; perhaps more thought should have been given to keeping children in custody.
5
@Bailey T Dog
The question of "Why" these immigrants take the risks they do has been described fully and frequently: overwhelming violence in their home countries. These adults are first and foremost parents, doing what they feel is the best way to protect their children.
The death of (at least) two children is adequate evidence to conclude that the safety of those detained is not adequately addressed.
The blame does not rest (solely) on the border agents, it is the system that has prioritized "zero-tolerance" above decency, prioritized a "Wall" above more humane concerns.
11
Bailey 7 dog, these children ate not entering illegally; He was, with a parent legally seeking asylum. if border patrol agents take them in to custody, they assume responsibility for the kid's care. These people are migrating their kids 2000 miles because it is so dangerous. Your comment saddens me one day after Christmas because it exhibits ignorance, deliberate or otherwise, and cuelty.
21
@cyberskate "Incredible that so many Democrats care not a whit about our own homeless veterans, nor any other persons in our country who also would like a better life." This is a statement on par with the one about how Democrats are for "open borders" and yet this is patently false! Cite one Democrat who has even called for that. The fact that millons more Americans have health care through expanded Medicaid via the ACA (or to others it is the dreaded "Obamacare" that will ruin this country) speaks to the fact that one can be concerned AT THE SAME TIME about what is going on with immigration and also have concern for fellow Americans, including veterans.
48
@Leslie what are you doing for vets? You? I am a dem who helped run a clinical trial for vets where many received primary care for the first time in decades. I can still denounce Republicans who vote against our pro veteran legislation, fight against racist border actions by our racst president and chew gun while supporting veterans with real action. What have YOU done?
11
@Leslie, Then what is the Dems plans for immigration?
They haven't divulged anything other than being against all and any measures taken to prevent it from happening further. If anything Dems support illegal immigrants. More than they do of Americans who are poor or challenged.
3
@Leslie
I hear progressives, on a regular basis, demand:
1) An immediate halt to any and all deportations of those in the country illegally.
2) Immediate citizenship (amnesty) for those here illegally.
3) The abolition of ICE which prominent Democrats have likened to the Klan.
4) The elimination of 287(g), a partnership between federal and local law enforcement authorities that allowed for the detention of violent criminals in this country illegally.
5) The end of “catch and release” which sends those detained for illegally entering the country into our communities with the promise that they will return for a future court date.
6) The broadening of refugee standards to include domestic violence.
7) The expansion of “sanctuary cities” that shield illegals from deportation.
But “open borders”? Why of course not!
7
Since Trump became president, the number of over-land migrants has gone up, after two decades of steadily decreasing numbers. In other words, Trump's dishonest, cruel and racist immigration policies have not even worked.
Does it matter whether or not the boy's condition was directly attributable to his ICE incarceration? Once ICE, i.e., the White House, seized this boy and his father, they were 100% responsible for their wellbeing.
ICE and the White House don't deserve the benefit of the doubt. ICE agents have been brutal. ICE prisons are overcrowded and inhumanly frigid. ICE food is often rotten. Who will ever forget the video of ICE agents mocking small children as they ripped them from their parents?
38
The Border Patrol apprehended over 25K so far this month, almost 4 times the amount for last year. Both children died during a time when facilities are being overwhelmed by this human wave.
While the proponents of open borders will blame the Border Patrol, the responsibility lies with the parents who subject their children to a long and arduous journey to force their way into another country, uninvited. It's curious that we never see statistics that show how many more children die on the trip north. I suspect that it's a lot more than 2.
And apparently, the father of the first child has been getting advice from lawyers. When the boy arrived it was found that he was suffering from lack of food and dehydration, not having had anything to eat or drink for several days. Now the father claims he was fine upon arrival.
My sympathies go out to the people who are encouraged to travel north, motivated by reports of lax border security and an easy way into the US, only to find that things aren't that simple, but the responsibility for what perils they face cannot be placed on the US or the agencies whose job it is to keep our borders secure.
29
@beefrits Who are these people who advocate open borders? One name with a direct quote of a mainstream politician.
The fact is that the number of illegal crossers had been decreasing right up until Trump. Trump policies have reversed this.
3
benefits, these people coming here are not coming here because of lax border security but due to intolerable violence in their countries. Your assertion is no less false than the claim that Democrats support open borders.
8
@Tom Schmit how about Barrack Hussein Obama. DACA, DAPA and path to citizenship for the illegals already in country. If that is not a proxy for open borders then tell me what is.
1
So now, instead of separating migrant children from their parents, we're killing them. If Congress doesn't do something about this perhaps the matter should be referred to the International Court of Justice at the Hague.
32
@Christy wow! Is this what the Democrats want everyone to believe now. To clear things up, "we" are not killing them. The parents who took them through the dessert in this weather as a way to increase their chances at getting in our country illegally are 100% responsible for their deaths. Read the story on the first girl. Dad took her (7 year-old) and left the Mom with three other children back home. He said he had been told he had a better chance at getting in with the kid. The kicker, when asked why he wanted to get in the US, he said it was for better economic opportunities.
17
@Christy When medical care is provided (free to them, paid for by others) it is hard to say we are killing them.
We need to remove the inducement of our porous border and enforce modern visa tracking and enhanced E-verify.
15
@J. Marti
Dessert?
Another small child has tragically died, and yet you express zero sorrow or compassion. No, you are intent on loading all the blame on a grieving father. Wow.
Now, when authorities take custody of someone they automatically have responsibility for their care and, yes, even their lives.
The feds almost certainly were negligent in the level of care they provided.
Guatemala has the 78th-highest infant mortality rate in the world.
2
When Homeland "Security" takes anyone into custody especially a child who is helpless, the moral standard of many of us is that detention imposes an absolute obligation to provide for the safety of those detained. There is no excuse for failure to meet that obligation. None.
Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary of Homeland Security is described as "unable to answer a question about how many people had died in custody." I read that as homicidal negligence.
It is outrageous.
48
@Richard Lewis Apparently you do not understand health. When people have no preventable care, are exposed to diseases and the elements because of a false promise made by smugglers and even their own governments, how in the world do you think we can save all their lives? No vaccinations, no vitamins, no physicals, and who knows what exposure. Sorry, but the border personnel, including care givers, are doing the very best they can under incredible circumstances not of their making, nor of the US's making.
4
@Ma
Re: "Apparently you do not understand health."
I am a physician.
What I do understand is there are inexhaustible reasons to justify lack of compassion.
2
@Ma
From all the reporting, not from just the media but from Congress members and NGO's trying to help, our government could be doing a lot better. It's unfair to blame the people who are forced to do the jobs under the present conditions. It is the opposite of the way refugees were treated in previous decades since WWII. The current policies are beyond inhuman.
1
When your practices are predicated on adults and executed on children you are going to have problems. There is a reason that pediatrics is a specialty. The people in charge of these immigrants do not appear to have any training or capacity for the assessment or treatment of children. Regardless of your position on the underlying policy, this reality presents a moral challenge that this country is not meeting.
17
This is a tragedy. Why don't you stay in your own country. Help change your country. Contribute to your own country instead of putting all of your efforts in coming here.
25
@Chris Anderson What prompted your family to come?
How long do you live with and under the threat of violence? There is a breaking point. Nobody wants to leave home. These are difficult decisions and your judgement is unwarranted.
9
Maybe you should go to that country and see for yourself why they decided to leave it.
10
Ask to be allowed to stay in the FIRST country you encounter after leaving your own, if your excuse is leaving is the fear for your life. You are not allowed to country shop
3
From a Google search:
According to Feeding America, 1 in 8 Americans struggles with hunger. In 2015, 42,238,000 people were food insecure. Food insecurity exists in every county in America. Millions of people are still struggling to get by because of underemployment, stagnant wages and rising costs of living. To these Americans, food has become an unaffordable luxury.
So does that mean the total is now 42,238,001?
8
Travelling through the desert near New Mexico is a dangerous journey. It endangers the safety of children. It's almost like leaving your child locked in a car on a hot day. The parents who did this should be arrested, charged, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and embarrassed publicly, and deported once they serve their prison sentences. The news media and the left are trying to place blame on the U.S government, but the blame lies squarely with the parents.
30
@johnny
the conditions of the detention centers make it possible for grownups to miss the signs of children with life threatening conditions.
It is those holding the children at the moment who are responsible.
They are "in loco parentis" or in English, ""in the place of a parent".
3
@johnny
Please do some research. A place to start (for those with some shred of empathy and humanity left) is a book called "The New Odyssey." While it details migrant activity from Africa into Europe, the story is the same: many migrants are professionals whose family safety has been placed at great peril due to dangers in their country (despotic leaders rounding up males and terrorizing them, bombings within a block of school grounds, etc.). If this state of affairs has become your "daily life," and you have children, what would you do? The only rational parental choice is to take your babies some place you deem at least a shred safer than where you are. That's what the vast majority of migrants are doing. So, in this Christian season, we need to ask ourselves: (a) What should we be doing to help out at the local level in those desperation-inducing countries as the "free world's leader"/model country? and/or (b) How should we be treating migrants fleeing from such horrific conditions? We claim to have a "moral" majority in power: all I see daily is selfishness, greed, and a "we-got-here-first" mentality that is disheartening and shameful. (And I GLADLY pay high taxes to provide services to those in need.)
My global co-workers talk about how their parents -European WWII survivors - cry to this day remembering the chocolate, toys, and essentials American troops brought to them after the war. What happened to those gestures of goodwill and humanity these past 3 years?
The cause of death is unknown. Regardless of when the child got sick. The US Government is required to care for anyone under their watch. They failed (again)!
9
@Christopher
The Border Patrol did the same thing parents do with they children get sick. On December 24, a Border Patrol agent noticed that the child seemed sick and took him along with his father to the Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center in Alamogordo, New Mexico.The hospital diagnosed the child as suffering from a common cold but running a fever. It held the child 90 minutes for observation and then released the child from the hospital with prescriptions for amoxicillin and Ibuprofen.That evening the child became nausea and started vomiting. The Border Patrol sent the child back to the hospital for evaluation and treatment. The child died after midnight on December 25 in the hospital.
8
This second death of a young child should also raise questions about the judgment of adults bringing children through harsh and dangerous conditions for the well-known reason of obtaining special treatment at the border for anyone with a kid in tow-- their own or someone else's.
42
Seriously ? It’s the other way around. How desperate must these families be to risk everything to take their children to this country. This is not along the lines of using crutches to get ahead in line at Disneyland. Whatever your feelings on border control please show some humanity for the suffering of migrants.
69
They are well aware of the harsh conditions of the crossing. Imagine what they are fleeing that they are willing to take all these risks.
15
There but for the grace of god go the rest of us. I've never been in their situation, running for my families lives. Have you?
This country, in the past has cared for the downtrodden, apparently, not anymore. We as a country are so much better than what Trump and his toadies is turning us into.
We should all be very very ashamed of what is happening to us. This uncaring, selfish megalomaniac needs to be stopped, now.
12
The mortality rate among U.S. children ages 1 to 19 is about 6.7 deaths per 10,000 kids. About 55,000 children die each year n the United States, an average of about 150 per day. Migrant children also get sick and die. The Guatemalan child was one of about 150 children who died on Christmas Day.
The Border Patrol did the same thing parents do with they children get sick. On December 24, a Border Patrol agent noticed that the child seemed sick and took him along with his father to the Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center in Alamogordo, New Mexico.The hospital diagnosed the child as suffering from a common cold but running a fever. It held the child 90 minutes for observation and then released the child from the hospital with prescriptions for amoxicillin and Ibuprofen.That evening the child became nausea and started vomiting. The Border Patrol sent the child back to the hospital for evaluation and treatment. The child died after midnight on December 25 in the hospital.
15
Could be. But the fecklessness of this administration along with language barriers among other issues can make people question what indeed could just be a statistic.
6
@Margaret Flaherty Are you suggesting there is a magical solution that would have prevented this childs' death once he was in US custody if only a liberal President was in office?
4
@Margaret Flaherty
If you have ever lived on the border, you would know there is no language barrier. Most Border Patrol agents and most medical staffed are Hispanics. They speak Spanish.
1
Of course these children are getting sick and dying.....overexposure and dehydration.
Agree with Dan Stein.
8
@applegirl57, And possibly contaminated water being consumed during passage.
1
You can have a fever with a cold, and -- even though doctors agree that they're useless -- prescribing antibiotics for colds is so common that one can't consider it substandard medicine. It's the standard.
6
The headline in the Christmas Eve newspaper in El Paso read (as best I recall): "14,000 Migrant Children in US Camps". I haven't seen this number any where else... 14,000!
2
@Taoshum
The mortality rate among U.S. children ages 1 to 19 is about 6.7 deaths per 10,000 kids. So, you would expect art least the same mortality rate among migrant children. Our of 14,000, you would expect mote than 6.7 deaths.
9
@Taoshum That number is referenced in numerous publications across the political spectrum. Google it.
5
@Frank BTW, anyone know how many $50K baby sitters are required to take care of 14,000 kids? Teachers? Docs? Nurses? Food prep? Counselors? All supplied by the DHS?
4
How the United States treats captive immigrants smacks back to the definition of a "concentration camp".
7
@Matthew O'Brien That remark is astounding.
5
Regardless of the conditions of facilities where these immigrants are retained, the most questionable and abhorrent part of this story is the parents who bring their kids in long rough trips to force their way into this country. These men and women are totally deplorable and irresponsible. These immigrants have to apply for immigration following due process. In the meantime, they need to deal with the unwanted situation in their own countries and fight to improve their own countries instead of wanting an easy way out by manipulating the sensitivity of this country using their kids as pawns. Kids get sick all the time everywhere, even under perfect conditions. These parents are totally disgusting to put their kids through the worst conditions as way to exploit this country in everyway possible for economic gain.
34
@ART
you have no idea how lucky you are to not even be able to imagine conditions that would bring parents to take their children on the treks
10
@Thinking
How do you know that?
2
@ART, It is commonly shared among the migrants that if you bring along children you will get treated better and allowed faster entrance into the US. This is why we are seeing more families and children today.
2