McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection has shut down the medical isolation unit at the Harlingen, Texas, facility where an 8-year-old Panamanian girl died, and urgent medical cases have been moved to the processing facility in nearby Donna, Texas.
CBP officials confirmed to Border Report that the Harlingen Border Patrol Station is no longer being used to treat “medically at-risk migrants in South Texas.”
The Donna facility, instead, now is where medical triage and management of basic care, as well as isolation areas for communicable diseases, are being held in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, the agency said.
“The health and safety of individuals in our custody, our workforce, and communities we serve is paramount,” a CBP spokesperson told Border Report.
The agency also is significantly overhauling and reviewing its medical care of asylum-seekers in custody, the spokesperson said. This includes “significant steps to ensure that medically fragile individuals receive the best possible care and spend the minimum amount of time possible in CBP custody.”
Anadith Reyes Alvarez died May 17 at the Harlingen processing facility where she was being isolated for a high fever and the flu, CBP has said. She had been held for eight days despite repeated complaints by her mother, who told officials at the facility that her daughter was sick.
Anadith also suffered from sickle cell anemia and had a heart condition. Her lawyer, with the Texas Civil Rights Project, has told Border Report that the young girl should have been sent to the hospital immediately.
CBP says the following is now the protocol for all facilities where migrants are held:
- A review of all medically-fragile individuals in custody to “appropriately prioritize processing” for those who are medically vulnerable.
- Additional federal clinical resources, guidance and oversight by U.S. Public Health Service, which include the deployment of uniformed clinicians who are working under the Department of Homeland Security Office of Health Security.
- Notifying all medical contractors at CBP facilities to review their practices and to “address deficiencies immediately.”
In addition, several medical providers who worked at the Harlingen facility are no longer permitted to provide medical care, the agency says.
The agency also is bringing in a new leader for the Office of the Chief Medical Officer to oversee operations.
In the past two years, across the Southwest border, CBP has built 11 facilities with dedicated medical space for triage and isolation of communicable diseases, like the flu. The agency says it employs over 1,000 medical personnel contractors for these facilities.
A funeral for Anadith was held in New York City on June 16 where her family now lives.
They were among thousands who crossed the border from Matamoros, Mexico, into Brownsville, Texas, in the days leading up to the end of Title 42.
The crush of thousands seeking asylum put strain on local CBP facilities and resources and many migrants were flown or bussed to other border cities, like San Diego and El Paso.
Despite a 72-hour limit for holding children in CBP custody, Anadith was held for over 200 hours.
