U.S.: MIGRANT GIRL RECEIVED MEDICAL HELP
An 8-year-old girl who died last week in Border Patrol custody was seen at least three separate times by medical personnel on the day of her death — complaining of vomiting and a stomachache and later suffering what appeared to be a seizure — before she was taken to a hospital, U.S. immigration officials said Sunday.
The girl’s mother had previously told The Associated Press that agents had repeatedly ignored her pleas to hospitalize her medically fragile daughter, who had a history of heart problems and sickle cell anemia. Anadith Tanay Reyes Alvarez, whose parents are Honduran, was born in Panama with congenital heart disease.
“She cried and begged for her life, and they ignored her. They didn’t do anything for her,” Mabel Alvarez Benedicks, Anadith’s mother, told The Associated Press on Friday.
In a statement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it knew about the girl’s medical history when personnel began treating her for influenza four days before her death on May 17.
CBP Acting Commissioner Troy Miller said in a statement that while his agency awaits the results of an internal investigation, he has ordered several steps be taken to ensure appropriate care for all medically fragile people in his agency’s custody. These actions include reviewing cases of all known medically fragile individuals currently in custody to ensure their time being held is limited and examining medicalcare practices at CBP facilities to see if more staffing is needed.
Anadith’s death has raised questions about whether the Border Patrol properly handled the situation. It was the second child migrant death in two weeks in U.S. government custody.
According to a CBP statement, Anadith had first voiced complaints of abdominal pain, nasal congestion and cough on the afternoon of May 14. She had a temperature of 101.8 degrees Fahrenheit
After a test showed she had influenza, Anadith was given acetaminophen, ibuprofen, medicine for nausea and Tamiflu, a flu treatment, according to CBP.
The family was then transferred from a facility in Donna, Texas, to one in Harlingen, Texas.
She continued to be given Tamiflu and ibuprofen, according to CBP.
On May 17, the girl and her mother went to the Harlingen Border Patrol Station’s medical unit at least three times, CBP said. By the third visit, “the mother was carrying the girl who appeared to be having a seizure, after which records indicate the child became unresponsive,” according to CBP.
Medical personnel began performing CPR before she was taken to a hospital in Harlingen, where she was pronounced dead. A medical examiner is waiting for additional tests before determining a cause of death.