Seven-Year-Old Girl Dies in Border Patrol Custody, Kirstjen Nielsen Blames Parents
Photo courtesy of Getty
On Thursday night, the Washington Post reported that a seven-year-old Guatemalan girl died of “dehydration and shock” after eight hours in Border Patrol custody with her father last week. The family, part of a larger group, had voluntarily turned themselves in after crossing the border in New Mexico. The girl began to have seizures around six in the morning, and her body temperature was 105.7 degrees when emergency responders arrived. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, she “reportedly had not eaten or consumed water for several days.” She died less than 24 hours later.
Now, a sane person might think this raises questions about conditions at Border Patrol custody points. For instance, why wasn’t the girl given food or water in eight hours? The ACLU hit the nail on the head:
The ACLU blamed “lack of accountability, and a culture of cruelty within CBP” for the girl’s death. “The fact that it took a week for this to come to light shows the need for transparency for CBP. We call for a rigorous investigation into how this tragedy happened and serious reforms to prevent future deaths,” Cynthia Pompa, advocacy manager for the ACLU Border Rights Center, said in a statement.
As for Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who previously lied to protect the administration during the child separation crisis? Well, accountability isn’t exactly her game—she went on Fox & Friends, the president’s favorite show, to blame the parents. Watch:
FOX & FRIENDS: What do you know about the 7-year-old girl who died in Border Patrol custody?@SecNielsen: “This is just a very sad example of the dangers of this journey. This family chose to cross illegally… I cannot stress [enough] how dangerous this journey is.” pic.twitter.com/bjFMdFlW3E