A 16-year-old Guatemalan boy died on Monday while in custody after he was apprehended crossing the border earlier this month, making him the fifth migrant child to die since December, NBC News reports.
The boy, whose name has not been released, was apprehended near Hidalgo, Texas on May 13, according to Customs and Border Protection, and brought to the Weslaco Border Patrol Station on Sunday after being held at the Rio Grande Valley Sector’s Central Processing Center. After that he was placed with the Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is in charge of unaccompanied or separated migrant children.
“The men and women of U.S. Customs and Border Protection are saddened by the tragic loss of this young man and our condolences are with his family,” said acting Commissioner John Sanders in a statement. “CBP is committed to the health, safety and humane treatment of those in our custody.”
The CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility will review the incident. The boy is the fifth migrant child, all of whom were Guatemalan, to die since December. Two children, Jakelin Caal Maquín, age 7, and Felipe Gomez Alonzo, age 8, died of infection in December. Juan de León Gutiérrez, 16, died of illness in April, and a 2-year-old died last week after being hospitalized for pneumonia.
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