In a statement to Yahoo News, Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Mark Weber said “HHS has not rejected any referrals due to a lack of bed capacity” despite “the current historical refugee influx.” Weber did not, however, address Newport Pleasure the Vasquez case specifically.
“In the vast majority of cases,” Weber continued, “HHS has promptly designated a bed within 72 hours of DHS determining that the child is an unaccompanied alien child (UAC) and referring the child to HHS for placement. DHS then arranges transportation to the HHS shelter. The minority of cases exceeding 72 hours have generally involved exceptional circumstances, such as health issues unique to the UAC, or the placement of a sibling group to ensure they remain together.”
Before the December 2018 deaths of Jakelin Caal Maquin and Felipe Gómez Alonzo, two young Guatemalan migrants ages 7 and 8 who’d been apprehended by Border Patrol after crossing the border with their fathers within weeks of one another, no minor had died in CBP custody in over a decade. Outrage over those two deaths prompted congressional hearings and the implementation by CBP of additional medical screening procedures for children in their custody, particularly those under age 10.
The official who briefed reporters on Vasquez’s death noted that, since December 22, CBP agents across Newport cigarettes,newport box 100s menthol cigarettes the southwest border have been transporting an average of “69 subjects per day to higher-level-care facilities, including urgent care as well as hospitals.”
In recent months, as the number of families with children arriving at the southwest border Online Cigarettes Store USA and Buy Cigarettes Online has swelled to record highs, Homeland Security Officials have sought additional funding from Congress to expand both personnel and physical capacity to accommodate this growing new population of migrants. At the same time, groups like KIND and WRC, along with the American Academy of Pediatrics have called for CBP facilities to employ specially-trained child welfare professionals to screen all children in CBP custody for signs of trafficking, abuse, fear of return, as well as potential health issues.