WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th December, 2018) US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said on Wednesday that she will travel to the US border with Mexico later this week to check conditions at Border Patrol stations following the second migrant child's death in December.
"I will be traveling to the border later this week to see first-hand the medical screenings and conditions at Border Patrol stations," Nielsen announced in a press release.
On Tuesday, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said a second migrant child died during the month of December after being apprehended over an illegal entry attempt in the United States, and the cause of death was yet to be established.
Nielsen said the death of a child in US government custody is deeply concerning and heartbreaking.
"In the last 24 hours, I have a directed a series of additional actions to care for those who enter our custody," Nielsen said.
Nielsen pointed out that there has been a "dramatic increase" in the number of migrants who try to cross into the United States illegally in the recent months.
"In the last two months alone, the Border Patrol has apprehended 139,817 illegal aliens on the Southwest Border as compared to 74,946 during the same time frame of FY [fiscal year] 2018," Nielsen said. "This is an increase of 86 percent. In just two months into this fiscal year we have seen 68,510 family units and 13,981 unaccompanied children. This is a dramatic change from historical trends and has only become starker in December."
Nielsen emphasized that the DHS is committed to helping those migrants in need and noted that the Border Patrol assisted more than 4,300 people in distress along the US-Mexico border over the past year - a 20 percent increase in rescues from the previous year.
Six migrants died while in CBP custody during fiscal year 2018 and none of them children, Nielsen said, adding that a child has nod died in the agency's custody in a decade.
"It is now clear that migrants, particularly children, are increasingly facing medical challenges and harboring illness caused by their long and dangerous journey," Nielsen said.
The Homeland Security Secretary also said that at her direction, all children in Border Patrol custody have been given a thorough medical screening.
"Moving forward, all children will receive a more thorough hands on assessment at the earliest possible time post apprehension - whether or not the accompanying adult has asked for one," Nielsen said.
On December 8, a seven year-old Guatemalan girl died two days after she was apprehended together with her father for illegally entering the United States. The US authorities said that the girl had not eaten food nor drank water for several days. According to human rights activists, the girl died from a septic shock, fever heat and dehydration.
A second migrant child died on December 25 in CBP custody after being apprehended for illegally crossing the US border.
