Migrant children cannot be allowed to die in custody

These tragedies are inseparable from the US’s deeply hostile immigration system

At a gathering of supporters last December, US President Donald Trump announced: “We can say Merry Christmas again.” It was telling that, rather than drawing attention to traditional messages of peace, Mr Trump saw the festive period as something to weaponise; an opportunity for a dogwhistle to the embittered section of white America that forms his base. Twelve months later, how little regard Mr Trump has for tolerance and goodwill has now been even more starkly illustrated.

On Christmas morning, when other children were opening presents, Felipe Alonzo-Gomez, an eight-year-old Guatemalan boy who was part of the migrant caravan, died in US custody after an attempt to cross the border from Mexico. For such a young life to be lost would be a tragedy in isolation and at any time of year. This is the second such case this month. On December 3, Jakelin Caal, seven, also from Guatemala, died hours after having been detained, causing an international outcry.

Rather than considering the desperation that drives thousands of people to make the arduous journey north from nations such as Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua, Mr Trump has resolved to keep every migrant on the Mexican side of the border – often in crime ridden towns where rape, sexual assault and violence are endemic – until court proceedings have decided their cases. Those who do attempt to cross are detained, separated from their families and provided with only the most basic amenities. Deaths such as those of Caal and Alonzo-Gomez may be presented as dreadful accidents, but they form part of a wider pattern. More than 70 people have died in US government holding centres since 2010. It is impossible to separate these tragedies from a hostile and unyielding immigration system, designed to discourage migrants. That America – a nation built on successive waves of immigration – can now turn its back so completely on those in need is deeply regrettable. That it is willing to do so at the cost of children’s lives is a disgrace.