Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/12/26/8-year-old-guatemalan-boy-dies.html
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There should be no benefit to trying to cross the border illegally. Illegal crossing will always be dangerous and as long as there’s a benefit to doing it, people will do it. There is an added benefit to bringing a child on the crossing, and so long as that benefit is there, people will do that too. The sanest thing to do would be to build a wall that blocks anyone trying to walk across, use e-verify and rapid deportation to give no benefit to anyone who crossed the wall, and then allow people to use a web page to apply for asylum in their home countries, so they can get a decision before having to go anywhere. If they are not approved, they will never be let in, so no reason to make the journey, and if they are approved, they can go by airplane, safely and without dealing with people smugglers. The only viable way in should be legal and safe, otherwise people will come in by ways that are illegal and unsafe, and these deaths are the result. Illegal entry should be futile, and then no one will risk life to do it.
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Stop wasting your time on Boing Boing.
Hand in your résumé:
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Conservative Cult45 members don’t care about the two refugee children who died, because the were not fetuses, and they were brown.
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So they should just stay where they are and let the druglords and deathsquads murder their children, and just wait for Trump to build his wall? How utterly heartless of you.
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tl;dr: “Pay no attention to the dead children resulting from the regime’s xenophobic policies (which I support)!”
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What if there were some kind of implement that could remove dirt creating oblong cavities circumventing surface obstructions. 
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What do Donald Trump’s boots taste like?
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So this is tragic, but the kid was hospitalized twice in a facility that is probably far better equipped than a Guatemalan hospital. He died in the hospital, not in some BP holding area. To implicate immigration authorities for this seems a bit of a stretch.
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And where did he become ill?
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Apparently not much of a stretch for the agency itself, which is announcing changes as a result of this latest loss of a child’s life in its custody:
Even they acknowledge that something is seriously wrong with how they handle things, although it seems their apologists would prefer that we wait for at least a few more children to die before we lay the blame on the agency.
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Rest in peace little boy. Decency failed you in the place where hope might have allowed you your chance. For your family I offer the deepest of sorrow. You had such poor choices to make in a brutal world.
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Yeah, they know they are responsible.
I don’t believe for a second they actually did frequent checks, nor do I believe that a father would refuse medical treatment for his child unless previous callous, abusive behavior by their captors led him to think that it wouldn’t help and could possibly make things worse.
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You seem to have a poor grasp of the concept of privilege.
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And of compassion… but then again it wasn’t your kid or someone you loved, just an immigrant boy. How was your Christmas JimJim
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My recommended Bible readings for anyone who identifies as Christian but is OK with this.
The Visit of the Wise Men
2 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men[a] from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising,[b] and have come to pay him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah[c] was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd[d] my people Israel.’”7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men[e] and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising,[f] until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped,[g] they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
The Escape to Egypt
13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 Then Joseph[h] got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt,
The Judgment of the Nations
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,[a] you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
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If he identifies as a Christian, I’m sure he paid appropriate tribute to the real hero of the story: the brave capitalist innkeeper who turns away the impoverished brown-skinned refugee couple with their anchor baby.
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No… as I said very very clearly, there should be a web page to apply for asylum so they could get flown here, safely and quickly, rather than hiking through a dangerous journey and hiring people smugglers. There’s a legal concept called “attractive nuisance” and that’s what the entire US southern border is. We must not let our country be an attractive nuisance. It’s morally wrong, just like having a swimming pool with no fence around it is morally wrong.
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Have you ever experienced poverty?
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