The drawings of Felipe Gomez Alonzo, the eight-year-old child who died under federal immigration custody on Christmas Eve, are still taped to the door of his family’s home in Guatemala. “One was a rendering of a blue balloon with a green string; in the other, a white horse jumped over a fence against a yellow sun and tangerine sky.”
Villagers, adults and kids alike, are trying to cope with the death. Family told the Associated Press (AP) that Felipe and his best friend, Kevin, had a fight shortly before Felipe left with his dad for the U.S. When he came back looking for him, he was already gone. “Kevin now knows that Felipe has died, the family said.”
For now, memories and the drawings are all his loved ones have left. Felipe’s body is still in the U.S., and is not expected to be returned home until later this month. “Trying to fight back tears,” the AP continued, “Catarina Alonzo said her son promised before leaving that when he was grown, he would work to send money home. Felipe also wanted to buy her a cellphone so she could see pictures of him from afar.”
Jakelin Ameí Rosmery Caal Maquin, another Guatemalan child, was also excited to start a new life in the U.S. "She was excited to travel," a neighbor said. "She mentioned it every chance she could.” Like Felipe, she arrived to the southern border healthy, but would soon fall seriously ill and die while under Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody. The girl was buried back home on Christmas Day.
Rather than display even a sliver of remorse, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen and the administration she works for have blamed the parents, political opponents, basically anyone else for the children’s deaths, claiming that she “cannot stress [enough] how dangerous this journey is.” Cowards. Kirstjen Nielsen doesn’t just deserve to get fired, she deserves to get sent to The Hague.
Thankfully, no finger-pointing can save them from the coming investigations promised by both House Democrats and the DHS office of the inspector general, and investigations that will hopefully usher in needed governmental reforms, particularly around vulnerable children, that will make sure tragic deaths like these never happen again.