Felipe Gómez Alonzo
Felipe Gómez Alonzo was eight years old and came from Yalambojoch, a remote village in Guatemala. His family remembers him as the oldest son and a talented young artist who had promised to work and send money home. He travelled to the United States with his father, Agustin Gomez, and was held by Border Patrol before being taken to a hospital in Alamogordo, New Mexico, with a cough and fever; CBP said he was released with a diagnosis of a common cold, and he was readmitted hours later after vomiting and died on Christmas Eve 2018. New Mexico's medical investigator said an autopsy showed influenza, a later autopsy reported a staph infection that spread to his blood, and a pediatrician told a House committee that untreated influenza with pneumonia and sepsis could have been prevented with timely care, while a DHS inspector general review found no misconduct by individual officers. His mother, Catarina Alonzo, said he was healthy during the journey and disputed claims that he was very sick before he reached Border Patrol.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). The New Mexico medical investigator's autopsy pointed to flu and later found a staph infection with sepsis, while a pediatrician told Congress that his untreated illness could have been prevented with timely care and his mother disputes that he was sick during the journey.
Reported by: New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator (medical examiner or coroner); U.S. Customs and Border Protection (the agency that held him); Fiona Danaher, a pediatrician, as told to the House Homeland Security Committee; American Academy of Pediatrics president (advocates).
News reports (21)
- 8-Year-Old Guatemalan Boy Dies in US Custody - VOA
- Timeline shows final days of Felipe Alonzo Gomez, the migrant boy who died in U.S. custody
- A second migrant child died in U.S. custody this month. Here's what we know
- Guatemalan boy who died in U.S. custody had the flu, medical investigator says
- Deaths of migrant kids underscore risks of hieleras
- "I want my son to come back home soon," says mom of boy who died after crossing border
- Autopsy says dead Guatemalan boy had influenza
- Guatemalan boy who died in U.S. custody had the flu: officials
- Guatemalan boy who died in U.S. custody had the flu, autopsy shows
- ‘I’m in despair’: a mother and village mourn Guatemalan boy's death in US
- The immigrants who have died in US custody in 2018
- The mother of an 8-year-old migrant boy who died in Border Patrol custody says he wasn't sick on his journey to the US
- Donald Trump blames Democrats after migrant children die in US custody
- Grieving mother of eight-year-old Guatemalan boy who died in US custody says her son was NOT sick
- Guatemala village mourns child who died in U.S. Border Patrol custody
- Felipe Gomez Alonzo: 8-year-old migrant boy who died in U.S. custody laid to rest in Yalambojoch, Guatemala
- Guatemalan boy who died in US custody is laid to rest in his village
- Portraits of six migrant kids who died in U.S. custody - Los Angeles Times
- Deaths of migrant children in US custody could have been averted
- A Guatemalan village buries Jakelin Caal Maquin, 7, who died in US custody
- 'No misconduct' found in deaths of 2 migrant children, DHS watchdog says - ABC News