VOA慢速英语--Migrant Girl, 7, Dies after Being Detained at US Border

 

A 7-year-old girl died while being detained by U.S. immigration officers, government officials said.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump¹ on Friday called the death a “tragic situation” but said it was not to blame.

The officials said the girl suffered seizures² and a high fever soon after being detained with a group that included her father near the U.S.-Mexico border last week.

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officials said the girl was found to have died from shock and a lack of water. They said that she did not seem to have had anything to eat or drink for several days.

The girl was found December 6 near Lordsburg, New Mexico, by U.S. Border Patrol agents. She was held for about eight hours before she began having seizures, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers said. Emergency medical workers found that the girl had a fever of 40.9 degrees Celsius³. She was flown to a hospital in El Paso, Texas, where she later died.

The results of the examination of the body could take weeks, officials said.

The girl is believed to be from Guatemala. Her death comes as an increasing numbers of families and children take the dangerous trip north from Central America.

Immigration officials are being criticized for their treatment of migrants who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border. Federal officials said a report of what happened to the girl will be completed.

The Department of Homeland Security, which supervises the Border Patrol, said in a statement: “Border Patrol agents took every possible step to save the child’s life.” The statement also expressed sympathy for the family.

The girl’s death raises questions about whether border agents knew she was ill or whether she was given food or liquids during the time she was held. Immigration officials said hundreds of people who have been affected⁴ by the desert heat are saved by Border Patrol every year.

When a Border Patrol agent arrests someone, that person gets processed at a Border Patrol building. The person usually is held no more than 72 hours. Then the person is either sent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, or, if the individual is Mexican, the person is sent back to Mexico.

Immigration officials said that the girl died at the hospital less than 24 hours after being sent to ICE. It is unknown what happened to her during the eight hours before she started having seizures.

The girl was traveling with a group of 163 people. They turned themselves in on December 6, immigration officials said. It is unclear where her father is.

Immigrants, lawyers and activists⁵ have expressed concern with the conditions of Border Patrol holding facilities.

In Tucson, Arizona, a lawsuit⁶ claims facilities are dirty, cold and do not have things like blankets. A judge hearing that lawsuit has ordered the agency in Tuscon to provide blankets and to continually release surveillance video from inside.

Agents in Arizona see groups of more than 100 people, sometimes including babies, all the time.

Arresting these groups causes problems for agents. They have to wait for vehicles that have baby seats to take the migrants to processing facilities. Some of the facilities take 30 minutes to reach.

The death of the 7-year-old girl comes after a baby died in May just after being released from an ICE family detention⁷ facility in Texas.

President Donald Trump’s administration is trying to ban people from asking for asylum⁸ if they crossed the border illegally. A federal appeals court has temporarily halted that ban. However, on Tuesday, the administration asked the U.S. Supreme⁹ Court to permit the ban to go into effect.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

fever – n. a body temperature that is higher than normal

shock – n. a serious condition in which the body is not able to get enough blood to all the parts of the body

facility – n. something such as a building that is built for a specific purpose

blanket – n. a covering made of cloth that is used especially on a bed to keep you warm

surveillance – adj. the act of carefully watching someone or something especially in order to prevent or detect a crime

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 seizures   

n.起获( seizure的名词复数 )；没收；充公；起获的赃物

参考例句：

• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因，有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句

3 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

7 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

8 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

9 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。