Nielsen Shifts Blame For Second Child Death To Dems, The ‘Dangerous Journey’

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 20:  Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen looks at her papers while testifing to a House Judiciary Committee  on Capitol Hill, December 20, 2018 in Washington, DC. The committee is hearing testimony about oversight of the department.  (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 20: Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen looks at her papers while testifing to a House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill, December 20, 2018 in Washington, DC. The committee is h... WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 20: Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen looks at her papers while testifing to a House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill, December 20, 2018 in Washington, DC. The committee is hearing testimony about oversight of the department. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen skirted responsibility for the death of another migrant child in her agency’s custody by piling blame on those who advocate for “open borders” (Democrats) and the parents and caretakers who bring their children on the “long and dangerous journey” to the U.S. border.

In a statement released Wednesday, Nielsen called the death of 8-year-old Guatemalan boy Felipe Alonzo-Gomez a “deeply concerning and heartbreaking” “tragedy” and said she would enable more thorough medical screenings for children who are apprehended at the border.

She then launched into a diatribe concerning the uptick in illegal crossings in recent months, casting blame on a “system” that seemingly “rewards parents for sending their children across the border alone” and a broken asylum process as incentivizing factors in the increase in illegal traffic.

“Our system has been pushed to a breaking point by those who seek open borders. Smugglers, traffickers, and their own parents put these minors at risk by embarking on the dangerous and arduous journey north,” she said in the statement. “This crisis is exacerbated by the increase in persons who are entering our custody suffering from severe respiratory illnesses or exhibit some other illness upon apprehension. Given the remote locations of their illegal crossing and the lack of resources, it is even more difficult for our personnel to be first responders.”

By her own admission, it has been more than a decade since a child has died in the custody of Customs and Border Patrol. However, Nielsen suggested that children are just now facing “medical challenges and harboring illness caused by their long and dangerous journey.” She also suggested the “illnesses” were coming from Mexico’s side of the border.

In the case of Alonzo-Gomez, it is unclear where he contracted a cold that led to his death. The Guatemalan boy was taken into custody on Dec. 18 and was brought to a hospital when he became “feverish and nauseated,” according to media reports. He was diagnosed with a cold, released back into Customs and Border Patrol’s custody and died a few hours later on Christmas Eve.

Just two weeks ago, a seven-year-old girl died of shock and dehydration hours after she was apprehended. In response to that death, Nielsen also cast blame on the “dangers of this journey.”

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