7 year old girl dies of dehydration and exhaustion in Border Patrol custody

Ignatius the Kiwi

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Should be noted that the girl died due to her Father taking her on the dangerous journey where she was deprived of food and water for six or so days. It was only when taken into custody she died 8 hours later.

From the Washington Post

"According to CBP records, the girl and her father were taken into custody about 10 p.m. Dec. 6 south of Lordsburg, N.M., as part of a group of 163 people who approached U.S. agents to turn themselves in.

More than eight hours later, the child began having seizures at 6:25 a.m., CBP records show. Emergency responders, who arrived soon after, measured her body temperature at 105.7 degrees, and according to a statement from CBP, she “reportedly had not eaten or consumed water for several days.”

It will have to be investigated and I'm not sure if anything could have been done to save the girl at the point of her being taken into custody. Would her drinking water have immediately eliminated those days of travel in the hot Mexican sun with no food and no water? I imagine it not being that simple and that at a certain point your body cannot easily recover.

In any case this was not severe neglect by the US, but by the Father.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...ory.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.a0c14efe34ab
 
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Sm412

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Should be noted that the girl died due to her Father taking her on the dangerous journey where she was deprived of food and water for six or so days. It was only when taken into custody she died 8 hours later.

From the Washington Post

"According to CBP records, the girl and her father were taken into custody about 10 p.m. Dec. 6 south of Lordsburg, N.M., as part of a group of 163 people who approached U.S. agents to turn themselves in.

More than eight hours later, the child began having seizures at 6:25 a.m., CBP records show. Emergency responders, who arrived soon after, measured her body temperature at 105.7 degrees, and according to a statement from CBP, she “reportedly had not eaten or consumed water for several days.”

It will have to be investigated and I'm not sure if anything could have been done to save the girl at the point of her being taken into custody. Would her drinking water have immediately eliminated those days of travel in the hot Mexican sun with no food and no water? I imagine it not being that simple and that at a certain point your body cannot easily recover.

In any case this was not severe neglect by the US, but by the Father.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...ory.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.a0c14efe34ab

Fair perspective, which is why I picked a centrist news source. While I am liberal, I like to avoid liberal sensationalism. However, it should be noted that such a journey may not have taken place had they not been fleeing something horrible. Many of these people are refugees fleeing violence. I'm not an expert on Latin American state of affairs, but I do know many of these areas are rife with violence and exploitation. I wouldn't be so quick to blame the father as negligent. It is possible that he saw no other option for his daughter's safety, in which case I find I cannot blame him, and can only be deeply saddened by the event. For my own peace of mind, I need to know that in the spirit of the verses posted, everything was done by agents to save her. If she was neglected by US agents, a great injustice has then taken place.
 
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Ignatius the Kiwi

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Fair perspective, which is why I picked a centrist news source. While I am liberal, I like to avoid liberal sensationalism. However, it should be noted that such a journey may not have taken place had they not been fleeing something horrible. Many of these people are refugees fleeing violence. I'm not an expert on Latin American state of affairs, but I do know many of these areas are rife with violence and exploitation. I wouldn't be so quick to blame the father as negligent. It is possible that he saw no other option for his daughter's safety, in which case I find I cannot blame him, and can only be deeply saddened by the event. For my own peace of mind, I need to know that in the spirit of the verses posted, everything was done by agents to save her. If she was neglected by US agents, a great injustice has then taken place.

The caravan was offered citizenship in Mexico which is more violent than the US but substantially better than their home country. The Father's actions were not justified in risking his Daughter's life for the chance of better economic prospects.
 
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Ada Lovelace

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Leviticus 19:34 is also a verse that came to mind when I learned of the tragedy.....

She did not receive desperately needed emergency medical care for 90 minutes, which is an outrageously lengthy time for a vulnerable child in distress.

To my knowledge an official cause of death has not been publicly revealed yet but my guess is hyponatremia due to the symptoms described and the circumstance she was in. It occurs when the concentration of sodium in your blood is abnormally low. This can happen when too much water is consumed too quickly. Children and anyone who has been in a dehydrated state following physical exertion are vulnerable, and a young dehydrated child is especially at risk.

Though water is vitally necessary when a person is dehydrated, giving excessive quantities too fast can be more damaging than helpful. It's sort of analogous to how after a catastrophic wildfire you might think a strong rainstorm would be precisely what is needed for the scorched ground, but in actuality that can be more detrimental than beneficial. The land is too parched to absorb the water at the rate it's coming down, and mudslides can occur. Drinking excessive amounts of water can cause low sodium by overwhelming the kidneys' ability to excrete water, and that's especially problematic after physical exertion that has caused sweat. When sodium in the body becomes diluted your body's water levels rise, and your cells begin to swell. This swelling can rapidly become life-threatening. Marathon runners have died from it, which is why staff and even volunteers at races have been made aware of it.

Everyone working in border patrol should be educated about it since migrants are going to be at jeopardy. It's relatively simple and inexpensive to treat by slowly raising the sodium levels. In a pinch adding salt to water and having the person slowly drink it can help until an IV with sodium solution can be given. If untreated it can be deadly.
 
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Sm412

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Leviticus 19:34 is also a verse that came to mind when I learned of the tragedy.....

She did not receive desperately needed emergency medical care for 90 minutes, which is an outrageously lengthy time for a vulnerable child in distress.

To my knowledge an official cause of death has not been publicly revealed yet but my guess is hyponatremia due to the symptoms described and the circumstance she was in. It occurs when the concentration of sodium in your blood is abnormally low. This can happen when too much water is consumed too quickly. Children and anyone who has been in a dehydrated state following physical exertion are vulnerable, and a young dehydrated child is especially at risk.

Though water is vitally necessary when a person is dehydrated, giving excessive quantities too fast can be more damaging than helpful. It's sort of analogous to how after a catastrophic wildfire you might think a strong rainstorm would be precisely what is needed for the scorched ground, but in actuality that can be more detrimental than beneficial. The land is too parched to absorb the water at the rate it's coming down, and mudslides can occur. Drinking excessive amounts of water can cause low sodium by overwhelming the kidneys' ability to excrete water, and that's especially problematic after physical exertion that has caused sweat. When sodium in the body becomes diluted your body's water levels rise, and your cells begin to swell. This swelling can rapidly become life-threatening. Marathon runners have died from it, which is why staff and even volunteers at races have been made aware of it.

Everyone working in border patrol should be educated about it since migrants are going to be at jeopardy. It's relatively simple and inexpensive to treat by slowly raising the sodium levels. In a pinch adding salt to water and having the person slowly drink it can help until an IV with sodium solution can be given. If untreated it can be deadly.

In this case, a great injustice has been committed, and the verse I posted rings true. Thank you.
 
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Sm412

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The caravan was offered citizenship in Mexico which is more violent than the US but substantially better than their home country. The Father's actions were not justified in risking his Daughter's life for the chance of better economic prospects.

And how do you know "better economic prospects" is what he was seeking? Mexico is rife with drug violence as well. Maybe they didn't feel safe in Mexico either.

It is our duty to provide asylum to refugees. It is a legal process and a human rights OBLIGATION. It is not for us to judge whether they should have stopped in a different country. Refugees may go to any country they deem safe and fitting to their needs.

Also, it does appear that negligence by US authorities WAS a factor, so there's that.
 
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Mountainmanbob

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Also, it does appear that negligence by US authorities WAS a factor, so there's that.

Our border patrol is very well trained regarding these matters and probably 99% of the time do not make mistakes.

For they all know that if anything happens they will be held responsible right on up to and including a murder charge.

These are professionals --
do you happen to know any border patrol?

M-Bob
 
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Mountainmanbob

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It was just on the news that the girl had not eaten or drank anything for several days before reaching the border thus --((she was close to death.))

That would be (close to death) (((before))) the border patrol could reach her.

M-Bob
 
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Ignatius the Kiwi

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And how do you know "better economic prospects" is what he was seeking? Mexico is rife with drug violence as well. Maybe they didn't feel safe in Mexico either.

It is our duty to provide asylum to refugees. It is a legal process and a human rights OBLIGATION. It is not for us to judge whether they should have stopped in a different country. Refugees may go to any country they deem safe and fitting to their needs.

Also, it does appear that negligence by US authorities WAS a factor, so there's that.

Bad conditions does not equal refugee status. By this logic the majority of Africans, Latin America, Middle Easterners, Good portions of China and India have rights to claim asylum in the USA. I personally think the process is being abused.

What exactly was the factor that the US government is responsible for? As I understand dehydration at a certain point without specific medical equipment drinking water isn't going to help, much like eating after a severe period of starvation would not help. The Father bares the responsibility for risking not only his life but especially his daughter's.
 
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SkyWriting

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Ada Lovelace

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The caravan was offered citizenship in Mexico which is more violent than the US but substantially better than their home country. The Father's actions were not justified in risking his Daughter's life for the chance of better economic prospects.

Citizenship was not offered. Migrants in the caravan originating from Honduras were offered temporary identification papers and jobs if they applied for asylum in Mexico. In order to qualify for the program migrants had to be in Mexico’s southern states of Chipas, which has a 75% poverty rate or Oaxaca's, which is over 60%. Grim economic prospects are not the only cause of justifiable fear in declining the offer. Violence and rampant discrimination are often stronger factors. Mexican immigration agents have targeted migrants from the Mayan indigenous community of Guatemala the father and daughter are from (as well indigenous Mexicans) and treated them brutally. There are credible allegations of detainees being systematically tortured and then being deported to the most poverty-stricken area of Guatemala. This would understandably make many indigenous migrants leery of offers from Mexico. Mayan descendants have been preyed on by gangs and subjected to pervasive discrimination and violence in both Guatemala and much of Mexico for decades.
I think many understandably view staying in Mexico as being like jumping from the frying pan into the flame.
 
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Mountainmanbob

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Citizenship was not offered. Migrants in the caravan originating from Honduras were offered temporary identification papers and jobs if they applied for asylum in Mexico. In order to qualify for the program migrants had to be in Mexico’s southern states of Chipas, which has a 75% poverty rate or Oaxaca's, which is over 60%. Grim economic prospects are not the only cause of justifiable fear in declining the offer. Violence and rampant discrimination are often stronger factors. Mexican immigration agents have targeted migrants from the Mayan indigenous community of Guatemala the father and daughter are from (as well indigenous Mexicans) and treated them brutally. There are credible allegations of detainees being systematically tortured and then being deported to the most poverty-stricken area of Guatemala. This would understandably make many indigenous migrants leery of offers from Mexico. Mayan descendants have been preyed on by gangs and subjected to pervasive discrimination and violence in both Guatemala and much of Mexico for decades.
I think many understandably view staying in Mexico as being like jumping from the frying pan into the flame.

A couple of weeks back the Tijuana mayor told the migrants that there were plenty of jobs if they wanted them.
M-Bob
 
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Go Braves

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A couple of weeks back the Tijuana mayor told the migrants that there were plenty of jobs if they wanted them.
M-Bob


Hey Bob, I'm not as fluent in Spanish as you must be. Can you help out by translating everything said in that video?
 
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Mountainmanbob

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Hey Bob, I'm not as fluent in Spanish as you must be. Can you help out by translating everything said in that video?

The goats to are translating here sorry but, they're busy eating right now. Just received UPS package of goat mix.

Our --
Goats are from South of the border.
We let them all in.

M-Bob
 
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Go Braves

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The goats to are translating here sorry but, they're busy eating right now. Just received UPS package of goat mix.

Our --
Goats are from South of the border.
We let them all in.

M-Bob

Well you're right here on the internet right now, Bob. So while the goats are enjoying their supper you can go ahead & translate your source for folks.
 
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brinny

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Fair perspective, which is why I picked a centrist news source. While I am liberal, I like to avoid liberal sensationalism. However, it should be noted that such a journey may not have taken place had they not been fleeing something horrible. Many of these people are refugees fleeing violence. I'm not an expert on Latin American state of affairs, but I do know many of these areas are rife with violence and exploitation. I wouldn't be so quick to blame the father as negligent. It is possible that he saw no other option for his daughter's safety, in which case I find I cannot blame him, and can only be deeply saddened by the event. For my own peace of mind, I need to know that in the spirit of the verses posted, everything was done by agents to save her. If she was neglected by US agents, a great injustice has then taken place.
fleeing something horrible.

They were not "fleeing".

They are not "refugees" seeking "asylum".

Those sponsoring these caravans need to be held responsible for this entire horrific monstrosity.
 
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