3 Guatemalan children who have crossed the border have died in the custody of the United States in the last five months



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The boy, who was not identified, had been detained in a shelter facility of the Refugee Resettlement Office. He died Tuesday in a Texas children's hospital after being hospitalized for several days, federal officials said.

His pbading highlights the perilous journey of many Central American children in their attempts to enter the United States and the health problems that could arise during their detention.

As more details appear about the boy's death, here's what we learned about the deaths of other migrant children and about the policy changes they caused.

Jakelin Caal Maquin and Felipe Gómez Alonzo died a few days after they and their parents had been placed in the custody of US Customs and Border Protection. Unlike them, the 16-year-old boy was traveling alone.

Seven-year-old Jakelin died two days after she and her father were arrested in December about 800 meters west of Antelope Wells' port of entry in New Mexico.
His health deteriorated during a 90-minute bus ride between the point of entry and the Lordsburg Border Patrol Station. CBP said that an initial screening on Jakelin had revealed no evidence of health problems, but family lawyers claimed to have sought relief from the first border patrol officers encountered in the country. because of Jakelin's illness and vomiting.
The last hours of the 7-year-old Guatemalan girl who died in the custody of the Border Patrol

She had a fever and her father told the officers that she was not breathing anymore, said CBP, before being flown to Providence Children's Hospital in El Paso, where she died the next day.

Prior to his death, no child had died in CBP custody for more than a decade, said a Department of Homeland Security official.

A few weeks later, Felipe, 8, also died at the hospital while he was being held by CBP. When Felipe and his father arrived in the United States, they were arrested about 5 km west of the Paso Del Norte port in El Paso, Texas, officials said.

Why the family of the deceased boy in the custody of the Border Patrol decided to send him to the north

The boy was taken to the hospital after a border services officer noticed signs of illness. The medical staff first diagnosed a cold and then a fever. The boy started vomiting later in the evening and was taken back to the hospital for badessment. He died hours later, CBP said.

Felipe and the 16-year-old boy were cared for, released and reintegrated into the hospital in a matter of hours, according to the CBP and the Administration for the Family and Children of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Their death was linked to sepsis

Although the cause of death of the 16-year-old girl is still unclear, autopsies of the other two Guatemalan children showed that the latter had died as a result of an infection progressively evolving into sepsis.
Jakelin died of a bacterial infection known as streptococcal sepsis, according to the autopsy report of the county medical examiner's office in El Paso, Texas.
The autopsy determines that a 7-year-old Guatemalan girl died of sepsis while she was in American custody

The report indicates that the streptococcus bacteria was found in the lungs, adrenal gland, liver and spleen of the girl. He adds that the infection was "rapidly progressive", which resulted in "a malfunction of several organs and death". The autopsy does not indicate how or when Jakelin contracted the infection.

Felipe died of a flu B complicated with a bacterial staph infection that resulted in sepsis, the Guatemalan Foreign Ministry said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, influenza B is one of the viruses that causes seasonal epidemics that occur in most US winters.

Sepsis can be caused by any type of infection, even minor, and occurs when germs enter a person's body and multiply, causing illness and damage to organs and tissues, according to the Center for Disease Control. control and prevention of diseases.

There is no single sign or symptom of sepsis, but rather a combination of symptoms. Since sepsis is the result of an infection, symptoms can include signs of infection – such as diarrhea, vomiting, sore throat, and so on. – as well as other symptoms such as chills and fever, extreme pain, pale or discolored skin, drowsiness and confusion and shortness of breath.

More medical checks have been ordered

The deaths of Jakelin and Felipe have prompted congressional hearings and immigration authorities to order an increase in medical checks for children in detention.

Homeland Security and CBP announced a series of new procedures, including secondary medical checks for all children, especially those under 10 years of age.

CBP began reviewing its policies in December, focusing on custody and custody of children under the age of 10, at admission and beyond 24 hours in custody, indicated l & # 39; agency.

The medical staff of the US Coast Guard has been tasked to evaluate CBP's medical programs and recommend improvements, while the Department of Defense has been asked to provide additional health professionals.

In an interview with "CBS This Morning", CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said the officers were "doing dozens of outings to the hospital every day with feverish kids or demonstrating others. medical conditions "as a growing number of families with young children and unaccompanied children were crossing border.
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