US to take 'extraordinary' measures in face of migrant surge

EL PASO, United States (AFP) The United States will take ''extraordinary'' protective measures to deal with a surge of immigrant children in custody, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Wednesday after a second Guatemalan child died in custody.

Nielsen plans to travel later this week to the Mexico border region to witness medical screenings and conditions at Border Patrol stations, she said in a statement, as Congress and Donald Trump remain deadlocked over the president's demands for billions of dollars to fund a wall along the border.

''In response to the unprecedented surge of children into our custody, I have directed a series of extraordinary protective measures,'' she said in a statement after the ''deeply concerning and heartbreaking'' death of the child.

Nielsen has asked experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate ''the uptick in sick children crossing our borders'' and to identify what further steps border hospitals should take in preparation, her statement said.

Nielsen added that she has asked the US Coast Guard medical corps to assess and ''make appropriate recommendations'' about Border Patrol medical programs, and has sought additional medical professionals from the Department of Defense.

US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan warned Wednesday that the agency was unable to cope with the thousands of arrivals, as most facilities were built decades ago for men arriving alone.

Eight-year-old Felipe Gomez, who collapsed after running a fever, was among almost 25,000 migrant children in US custody, according to McAleenan -- the greatest number ever recorded.

Gomez was detained with his 47-yearold father at a crossing in El Paso, Texas on December 18 and had been transferred to a New Mexico medical center showing signs of sickness on Monday, the CBP said.

Staff diagnosed him with a cold but later discovered a fever. He was discharged at midday, with prescriptions for ibuprofen and the antibiotic amoxicillin.

The boy was later sent back to the hospital suffering from nausea and vomiting. He died shortly before midnight on December 24.

The boy's death came on the same day that Jakelin Caal, a Guatemalan girl who died in US custody, was buried.