(NewsNation) — An 8-year-old girl from Panama, who suffered from heart problems since birth, died while in Border Patrol custody. This is the second time a child in the custody of the U.S. government has died in two weeks.
The girl’s mother said agents repeatedly ignored pleas to hospitalize her daughter, who says she felt pain in her bones. The girl was declared dead after being taken to the hospital.
The 8-year-old girl and her family were being held in Harlingen, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, the busiest sector of the border in Texas.
Customs and Border Protection’s internal affairs office is investigating the death and an autopsy has been ordered. The Homeland Security inspector general and the Harlingen police have also been notified of the 8-year-old’s death.
NewsNation reached out to CBP for comment but has yet to hear back.
Despite Border Patrol agents reporting a decrease in daily crossings, facilities holding migrants are still facing an overcrowding issue across the southern border.
Since Title 42 expired, daily apprehensions have plummeted along the southern border, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The day after the expiration, Border Patrol agents averaged 4,000 encounters a day with migrants crossing illegally between ports of entry, a significant decrease from the 10,000 encounters per day in the days leading up to the end of Title 42.
Texas officials were preparing for up to 13,000 illegal crossings per day following the end of Title 42. Texas Gov. Geg Abbot held a press conference in the border town of Brownsville, which has become the epicenter of illegal crossings, crediting the Texas National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety for preventing migrants from entering the U.S. illegally.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently announced he is sending 800 National Guard soldiers and 200 law enforcement officers to assist Texas authorities at the southern border. DeSantis also included planes, dromes, command vehicles and boats to assist authorities.