A 40-year-old Honduran woman who was apprehended early Monday morning near the border in Eagle Pass, Texas, has died in Customs and Border Protection custody, the agency announced.
CBP said in a statement later Monday that the woman collapsed about 25 minutes after being apprehended, and that agents “quickly initiated emergency medical care.” Emergency medical personnel arrived within 10 minutes and transported her to a local hospital where she was pronounced deceased.
It’s at least the third death of an undocumented migrant in three days near the US-Mexico border after being taken into custody by American personnel.
Earlier Monday, CBP announced the death of a 33-year-old Salvadoran man who appeared to seize shortly after he was apprehended midday Sunday. CBP is waiting to notify the next of kin before releasing the man’s name.
On Saturday, Jonathan Alberto “aka Johana” Medina Leon, 25, died at the Del Sol Medical Center in El Paso on Saturday, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said.
Medina Leon, a transgender woman, “requested to be tested for HIV and tested positive” on May 28 and was transferred to the hospital where she later died, according to ICE.
CBP said in a statement, “The care of those in CBP’s custody is paramount. Consistent with policy, CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility has initiated a review. The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General and the Government of El Salvador have been notified.”
Since September, six migrant children are known to have died after arriving at the US border.
Two young children died weeks apart in December in government custody, spurring congressional hearings on the matter.
DHS and CBP officials have since announced a series of new procedures, including secondary medical checks on all children with a focus those under age 10.
