Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen says she's ordered "extraordinary protective measures" after the death of an 8-year-old Guatemalan child in immigration custody.
Nielsen said in a statement Wednesday that she had asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate what she says is an "uptick in sick children crossing our borders." She also wants the U.S. Coast Guard to examine the medical programs offered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency that detained the 8-year-old and his father for a week.
Nielsen also pledged that all children in the future will receive a "more thorough" medical screening after they are apprehended.
The boy, identified by Guatemalan officials as Felipe Gomez Alonzo, was the second child to die in CBP custody this month.
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