The Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Patrol is refusing to take responsibility for the death of a seven-year-old girl who died of dehydration a day after being arrested at the border despite the fact that she stopped breathing on a US government bus and was not taken to hospital for more than an hour later.
The child, who is yet to be named, was arrested along with her father as they tried to enter the US at the Antelope Wells Port of Entry in New Mexico at 9.15pm on December 6.
They were among 163 migrants who were met by four Customs and Border Patrol Agents.
At 10pm, she was checked over by an agent who did not observe that she had any health issues or visibly concerning attributes.
The child was being held at the Lordsburg Border Patrol Station (pictured) along with 162 other migrants she was arrested with when she started suffering seizures at 6.25am on December 7, eight hours after being taken into custody
According to DHS and CBP officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity on Friday, the girl's father also told an agent in Spanish that she did not have any health problems and it was marked on a form used to process them.
Between 10pm and 4.30am, she remained at the Port of Entry, apparently with access to food, water and restrooms, until both she and her father were put on a bus to be taken for processing 95 miles away at the Lordsburg Border Patrol Station.
At 5am, the child started vomiting and her father alerted the agents on the bus but there was nothing they could do other than carry on, according to government officials.
Ninety-minutes later, the child's father told agents that she had stopped breathing.
They say it was around the time that they arrived at the patrol station but the exact number of minutes between her stopping breathing and their arrival is unclear.
She was then airlifted to hospital in El Paso, Texas, at 7.45am - more than an hour later - and went into cardiac arrest. After being revived, a CT scan revealed that the girl had brain swelling. She died the next day, early in the morning, from liver failure.
DHS officials say the girl would have 'died alone in the desert' had it not been for the 'life saving measures' that were taken.
They insist that there was nothing else they could have done to save the girl and that she was properly checked over despite the border agents not having medical training.
'The initial screening revealed no evidence of health issues. There is no indication that it was a lack of attention. The questions were asked... there were plenty of opportunities in that period of time for her father to alert agents.
'He had already been asked questions about her health, he knew we were interested in it,' the CBP official said.
The official added that agents were 'almost always outnumbered by migrants in the middle of the night' but insisted the disproportion had any effect on the girl's condition.
The agency previously said the girl 'had not eaten or drank any water' for days but they did not indicate how they knew that.
By the time she arrived at the station, the girl's temperature was 105.7 degrees.
When she was flown to hospital, her father was driven to be with her. He was present for her death but has since been returned to custody.
The border patrol station in Lordsburg is around 75 miles from the actual crossing. It is not equipped to function as a long-term detention center for migrants and, like many of the facilities along the border, was designed for adult males to be held in cells and not families
The case has outraged civil rights groups including the ACLU and sparked further concerns over the humanitarian component of the ongoing border crisis.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen reiterated the government's previous statements on the matter during an interview on Friday, saying it was 'an example of the dangers of this journey.
'It’s heart-wrenching, is what it is. And my heart goes out to the family. All of DHS. You know this is just a very sad example of the dangers of this journey.
'This family chose to cross illegally. What happened here was that they were about 90 miles away from where we could process them. They came in such a large crowd it took our Border Patrol folks a couple times to get them all.'
She insisted that the girl and the other migrants were given 'immediate care' but did not go into further detail.
'We'll continue to look into the situation, but again, I cannot stress enough how dangerous this journey when migrants choose to come here illegally,' she said.
A group of migrants are arrested at the border in Tijuana on December 2 by US Border Patrol Agents. The child who died has not been named
White House Deputy Press Secretary John Hogan Gidley described the girl's death as 'horrific'.
'It's a horrific, tragic situation. Obviously, our hearts go out to the family and to anyone who's suffered any type of danger and peril that they see so often when they make that trek up from the southern border. It's a horrific situation.
'There's no two ways about it and it's — it's a sad time, but it's also senseless. It's a needless death and it's 100 percent preventable. If we could just come together and pass some common sense laws to disincentivize people from coming up from the border and encourage them to do it the right way, the legal way, then those types of deaths, those types of assaults, those types of rapes, the child smuggling, the human trafficking that would all come to an end.
'And we hope Democrats join the president.'
All CBP would say on Friday when contacted by DailyMail.com earlier in the day was that its agents 'were unable to stop this tragedy.'
'As we have always said, traveling north illegally is extremely dangerous. Drug cartels, human smugglers and the elements pose deadly risks to anyone who comes across the border illegally.
'Border Patrol always takes care of individuals in their custody and does everything in their power to keep them safe. Every year the Border Patrol saves hundreds of people who are overcome by the elements between our ports of entry.
'Unfortunately, despite our best efforts and the best efforts of the medical team treating the child, we were unable to stop this tragedy from occurring.
'Once again, we are begging parents to not put themselves or their children at risk attempting to enter illegally.
'Please present yourselves at a port of entry and seek to enter legally and safely,' a spokesman said.
Cynthia Pompa, advocacy manager for the ACLU Border Rights Center, said migrant deaths increased last year even as the number of border crossing dropped.
'This tragedy represents the worst possible outcome when people, including children, are held in inhumane conditions.
'Lack of accountability, and a culture of cruelty within CBP have exacerbated policies that lead to migrant deaths,' Pompa said.
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/12/14/cbp-refuses-to-say-if-migrant-girl-was-given-water-food-or-care-before-she-died-of-dehydration/
Main photo article The Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Patrol is refusing to take responsibility for the death of a seven-year-old girl who died of dehydration a day after being arrested at the border despite the fact that she stopped breathing on a US government bus and was not taken to...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2018/12/14/15/7431176-0-image-m-2_1544800586871.jpg
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