8-Year-Old Girl Dies in Custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Photo: AP Photo/Andres Leighton

The child and her family were at the Harlingen Station when she became ill,according to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection(CBP).

“Emergency Medical Services were called to the station and transported her to the local hospital where she was pronounced dead,” the release states.

The agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility is now conducting an investigation, per the CBP, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General and Harlingen Police Department were also notified.

Sgt. Larry Moore with the Harlingen Police Departmenttold the Associated Pressthat he did not have further information on the girl’s death.

The tragedy comes nearly one week after the expiration of Title 42, the Trump-era immigration policy that allowed authorities to turn away migrants at U.S. borders.

Critics of the policy transition, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, predicted a surge of migrants would try to cross the border.

Last Monday, the governor announced the deployment of a Texas Tactical Border Force to “respond to the growing border crisis,“according to a press releasefrom the governor’s office.

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Earlier this month, a 17-year-old Honduran boy died at a holding center in Safety Harbor, Florida. His mothertold the APthat he had epilepsy since he was a child.

source: people.com