The death of a seven-year-old migrant girl who died after being taken into custody of the Border Patrol is a "sad example" of the dangers faced by the immigrants traveling through Mexico and into the United States, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Friday.
"This is just a very sad example of the dangers of this journey," Nielsen told Fox News' "Fox and Friends." "This family chose to cross illegally...it's heart-wrenching is what it is, and my heart goes out to the family and all of DHS."
The girl was among dozens of Guatemalan migrants who were found in the New Mexico desert about 90 miles away from where they could be processed, said Nielsen. The girl was given "immediate care," she said, after discovering she was having seizures and had a body temperature of 105.7 degrees.
She was flown by helicopter to a hospital in El Paso, where she died a day after going into cardiac arrest. The girl had been suffering from shock and dehydration.
According to reports, the girl was traveling with her father and was with a group of 163 people who approached agents to surrender.
"We'll continue to look into the situation, but again, I cannot stress how dangerous this journey is when migrants choose to come here illegally," said Nielsen.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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