With over 380,000 furloughed workers and 420,000 government employees being made to work without pay, Trump’s shutdown is harming more Americans than it is helping—especially when you consider that his goal is a highly inefficient measure in the first place, a measure against a “problem” that Trump and his followers have conjured up as an ideological banner. Trump’s campaign has centered around demonizing immigration from the beginning, but it’s clear enough that his rhetoric is patently false on multiple accounts. He appeals to and propagates the harmful myths about immigration, which his base is predisposed to believe, resulting in terrible consequences that have shocked the word in recent months. From its family separation policy to its inhumane detention centers, Trump’s administration has faced one controversy after another. And now, two children are dead.
Felipe Alonzo-Gomez, 8, died on Christmas Eve, while under the custody of the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). What is usually supposed to be a joyous night of festivities and celebrations turned into a nightmare for the child and his father, as Felipe started showing influenza-like symptoms. He was taken to Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center in Alamogordo, New Mexico, where he was diagnosed with the common cold and given a prescription for Ibuprofen and amoxicillin, after which he and his father were transported to a temporary holding. By 10 p.m., December 24th, Felipe was lethargic and nauseous. He started vomiting, and was driven back to the hospital. As he was being transported, he lost consciousness, never to wake up again. He was declared dead shortly after.
Felipe’s death came 16 days after Jakelin Caal Maquin’s, the 7-year-old who died while she and her father were held by the CBP. Jakelin survived the difficult trip from Guatemala to the US, more than 2,000 miles of intense marching through Mexico’s hazardous roads. But, after all that, she died during a 90-minute bus trip, already under the custody of US border authorities, after she failed to receive proper medical attention.
Jakelin Caal Maquin in a photo taken by her family just before her journey.
In the wake of these tragedies, facing an invigorated wave of public outrage, it became clear the detention system is far more pernicious than Republicans have wanted to admit. A transformation is needed. As a consequence, the US Customs and Border Protection has unsurprisingly announced it would change the way it handles health care for any migrant detainee from now on—a step that should have been taken far before any of this happened.
These are the new protocols, as announced by CBP Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan.
1. The CBP will conduct secondary medical checks on all children under their custody, focusing on those younger than 10.
2. The CBP, together with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is analyzing options for transportation to Family Residential Centers and supervised release. Also, more options are being considered regarding temporary housing for detainees.
3. The CBP is exploring more alternatives for medical assistance with other governmental agencies, including the Defense Department, the Coast Guard, Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
4. The CBP is also reviewing its policies in general, focusing on the care and custody of children under the age of 10.
Detention facility in McAllen, Texas.
Rep. Joaquin Castro said that “we must ensure we treat migrants and asylum-seekers with human dignity and provide the necessary medical care to anyone in the custody of the United States government.” Hopefully, this will be taken to heart beyond partisan disagreements.
Yet, efforts are ongoing to “secure the border,” as Trump calls it. His administration is looking to increase harsh measures against immigrants and asylum-seekers, which will be hard to balance with the humane treatment needed to avoid cases such as Jakelin’s and Felipe’s. For now, as Trump wages his war on immigration, we can only hope casualties do not increase due to the government’s negligence to treat the issue with efficient and ethical methods.
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Other articles you might like:
8 Things You’re Getting Completely Wrong About Central America’s Migration Crisis
The President Who Is Against Immigration Praises Hispanic Contribution To The United States
They Are Tired, Hurt, And Afraid. This Is The Life Inside The Migrant Caravan
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