18 May 2023 , 10:28
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An eight-year-old girl who crossed the US-Mexico border with her family has died in patrol custody, authorities confirmed.
The young girl suffered a "medical emergency" while in the U.S Border Patrol custody in Texas on Wednesday.
Her death comes just days after a teenager from Honduras died at a government-run shelter.
The girl and her family were being held at a facility in the city of Harlingen, adjacent to the Mexico border, according to a statement from Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
She later died in hospital and her identity has not yet been released.
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A CBP spokesperson said: "Emergency Medical Services were called to the station and transported her to the local hospital where she was pronounced dead."
The young girl's death comes just days after a teenager also died (AFP via Getty Images)They further added that the Office of Professional Responsibility would conduct an investigation, as is standard protocol in the case of a death.
The agency is investigating the death and will release “additional information” later.
The young girl's death comes as the number of migrants seeking to cross the US-Mexico border appears to have dropped significantly since the lifting of Title 42.
Title 42 - a Covid-19 related restriction which allowed US authorities to quickly expel migrants at the border - ended on May 12.
Amid fears of a big influx of migrants, and after an initial surge, the numbers returned to normal.
Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala are currently the most popular countries of origin for migrants attempting to cross the border (Mark Otte/Texas Army National Guard/UPI/REX/Shutterstock)In a separate and unrelated incident last week, officials from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) revealed the passing of a 17-year-old migrant teenager from Honduras.
The teenager had been residing in one of HHS's shelters designated for unaccompanied minors in Florida.
HHS is currently conducting an investigation into this incident, suspecting that the cause of death was likely an epileptic seizure.
U.S. border officials transfer migrant children to HHS if they cross the southern border without parents or legal guardians.
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A minimum of six migrant children lost their lives while in federal custody between the years 2018 and 2019.
The majority of these deaths occurred either while the children were under the care of the Border Patrol or shortly after being released by the agency.