Originally published July 12, 2023 4:00 pm PDT
The U.S. government is facing growing scrutiny over the handling of medical emergencies involving migrant children in their custody following the fourth death of a child in federal care this year.
A 15-year-old girl from Guatemala, whose identity has not been disclosed by the authorities, succumbed to a severe, pre-existing illness on Monday while under the government’s protection, according to Fox News.
The girl was admitted to El Paso Children’s Hospital after being referred by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to the Office of Refugee Resettlement back in May, as per a statement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
She was in federal custody at the time of her death.
The details regarding her entry into the country were not provided.
According to the statement, the medical care provided to the girl was “according to the mother’s wishes and aligned with the recommendations of the hospital’s health care provider team.”
Her health, however, took a turn for the worse on Friday, and she tragically died on Monday from multi-organ failure, a complication arising from her underlying disease.
Her mother and brother were present with her throughout her last days, officials reported.
This incident is not isolated.
Earlier this year in May, Ángel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza, a 17-year-old boy from Honduras with epilepsy, passed away at a holding center in Safety Harbor, Florida, Fox News noted.
His mother stated that he exhibited no signs of serious illness prior to his departure for the United States.
Following this, an 8-year-old girl from Panama with a history of heart problems and sickle cell anemia died while she and her family were in the custody of the Border Patrol in Harlingen, Texas.
The girl’s mother, referring to her daughter Anadith Danay Reyes Alvarez, claimed that Border Patrol agents continuously dismissed her requests to hospitalize her daughter as her health rapidly declined.
Earlier in March, a “medically fragile unaccompanied child from Honduras”, aged four, died in a Michigan hospital, an incident that was acknowledged by Health and Human Services at that time.
