Key takeaways:
- Anadith Tanay Reyes Alvarez, an 8-year-old with a heart condition, died after experiencing a medical emergency in a Border Patrol station in Texas.
- Her mother had requested medical aid for her daughter at least three times the day she died.
- The death of Reyes Alvarez has sparked outrage and calls for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death.
The death of an 8-year-old migrant girl in U.S. Border Patrol custody has sparked outrage after it was revealed that her mother had requested medical aid for her daughter at least three times the day she died.
Anadith Tanay Reyes Alvarez, who was born with a heart condition, died on May 17 after experiencing a medical emergency inside a Border Patrol station in Harlingen, Texas. Her mother, Mabel Alvarez Benedicks, had previously said that agents had repeatedly ignored her pleas to hospitalize her medically fragile daughter, who had a history of heart problems and sick cell anemia.
A local medical examiner is still probing the death, but an initial autopsy referenced Reyes Alvarez’s heart disease and sickle cell anemia, officials said. 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.
Border Patrol agents can hold migrants for no longer than three days, but Reyes Alvarez was detained in Border Patrol facilities with her parents and siblings for over a week. Benedicks had previously said that agents had not done anything for her daughter.
The death of Reyes Alvarez has sparked outrage and calls for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General is now investigating the incident.
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