纽约时报 又一儿童在美关押期间死亡(1)（在线收听）

Another Child Dies in Custody of U.S. Agents

又一儿童在美关押期间死亡

By Miriam Jordan

文/米里亚姆·乔丹

An 8-year-old boy from Guatemala died in United States custody early Christmas Day,

圣诞节当日凌晨，一名来自危地马拉的8岁男孩在被美国政府拘禁期间死亡，

the second death of a child in detention at the southwest border in less than three weeks,

这已经是不到三周时间里美国西南边境心发生的第二期儿童移民死亡事件了，

raising questions about the ability of federal agents running the crowded migrant border facilities to care for those who fall ill.

这一事件也让民众对联邦特工在管理拥挤的移民边境设施时照顾生病人员的能力产生了质疑。

The number of migrant families and unaccompanied minors journeying over land to the United States has swelled in the last year.

去年，通过陆路来到美国的移民家庭和举目无亲的未成年人人数激增。

Migrants are usually transferred to facilities designed to hold adults

在企图非法入境或在入境口岸办理手续时被联邦当局逮捕后，

after being arrested by federal authorities while attempting to enter the country illegally or after being processed at a port of entry.

这些移民通常会被送到用于关押成年人的关押中心。

The boy, who has not been named, died just after midnight on Tuesday at a hospital in Alamogordo, N.M.,

周二午夜刚过，该男孩，姓名尚未透露，就在新墨西哥州阿拉莫戈多的一家医院离开了人世，

where he and his father had been taken after a Border Patrol agent saw what appeared to be signs of sickness,

美国海关和边境保护局在声明中指出，当时，男孩和他父亲之所以被送去了医院，

according to United States Customs and Border Protection.

是因为一名边境巡逻人员发现他疑似出现了生病的迹象，

His death follows that of a 7-year-old girl from the same country while also in the custody of the Border Patrol.

该男孩离世前，还有一名来自同一国家的7岁女孩在被边境巡逻队拘留期间死亡。

Much about the circumstances of the boy’s death remains unknown.

该男孩之死仍有很多细节未明。

It is not clear whether his condition was attributable to the care he received in the facilities,

他的死亡是他在关押中心没有受到良好的照顾引起的，

the result of an arduous journey, or some combination of the two.

还是因为在路上遭罪太多，又或者两种原因都有也不清楚。

The border facilities have absorbed more children than was ever intended when they were built,

关押中心收容的儿童数量远远超过了当初规划的数量，

presenting challenges for those tasked with caring for migrant families.

为那些负责照顾非法移民家庭的工作人员增添了大量工作负担，

At first, the boy was thought to have a cold,

起初，这个男孩被认为只是得了感冒，

but staff at the hospital, the Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center, later found that he also had a fever, according to the agency.

但据该机构称，杰拉德·钱皮恩地区医疗中心的工作人员后来发现，他还发烧了。

He was held at the hospital for an additional 90 minutes for observation

后来，在留院观察了90分钟之后，

and then released on Monday afternoon with prescriptions for amoxicillin, a commonly prescribed antibiotic,

周一，医生给男孩开了阿莫西林，一种常用的抗生素，

and ibuprofen, which is often used for relieving pain and reducing fever.

和布洛芬，经常用于缓解疼痛和退烧，之后就让他出院了。

On Monday night, however, the boy grew nauseated and vomited,

然而，周一晚上，男孩开始恶心呕吐，

prompting border authorities to take him back to the hospital, where he died.

边境当局急忙将他送回了医院，但他还是离开了人世。

The cause of death is not known, but an internal review will be conducted, according to the agency,

据该机构称，男孩的死因尚不清楚，但他们会进行内部审查，

which said it had notified the government of Guatemala.

还说他们已经通知了危地马拉政府。

Officials at the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for additional information related to the boy’s death.

对于提供与男孩死亡有关的更多信息的要求，国土安全局的官员们并没有立即作出回应。