'The system is breaking. It was not designed to handle the volume of vulnerable populations–especially families and children–who are arriving,' Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen appeared to accuse asylum seekers of using sick children"as pawns" to gain entry into the United States on Monday, just as an autopsy report revealed that an eight-year-old boy who died in the custody of the U.S. Border Patrol in December died of the flu and a bacterial infection.
Nielsen asserted that "Smugglers and traffickers are forcing people into inhumane conditions. Women are being sexually assaulted, and a majority of migrants report experiencing violence on the treacherous trek" from Central American countries to the U.S. Gomez and his father, 47-year-old Agustin Gomez, had fled from their home village of Yalambojoch in hopes of a better life in the U.S. and crossed the border in El Paso, Texas, on December 18. The 8-year-old's father had said that his son was in good health when they were taken into custody that same day, but Gomez later developed flu symptoms and was taken to a hospital, where he succumbed to the illness.
It is unclear where Nielsen's allegation that sick children are being"used as pawns" to gain entry into the U.S. stems from. In her opinion piece, the DHS chief said"real action is needed—now." Over the weekend, the State Department also announced that it would be carrying out a directive from President Donald Trump to end aid programmes to the three Central American countries, despite repeated warnings that cutting aid will only create further instability.
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