Featured Issue: Conditions in CBP Custody

As of May 20, 2019, five migrant children have died since December 2018 after being apprehended at the southern border. So far, all of these children have been from Guatemala. This increase in mortality corresponds with record numbers of families from Guatemala and other northern Central American countries coming to the United States seeking asylum, with nearly 100,000 crossing in April 2019, the highest monthly total in a decade.

On December 25, 2018, DHS issued a statement, “DHS has continued to see a dramatic increase in unaccompanied children and family units arriving at our borders illegally or without authorization. Consistent with existing law, these individuals are held at federal facilities pending their removal or release into the interior of the United States with a notice to appear at a court hearing. During their period of detention they received medical screenings and further treatment as needed.”

As a result of a second death of a child in December 2018, the Washington Post reports that CBP Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan said the Border Patrol would conduct health checks of all children in its “care and custody,” whether they arrived in the United States as part of a family or were unaccompanied. The health reviews will focus on children under 10.

Government Announcements

• CBP Announces 16-Year Old Guatemalan National Died in Rio Grande Valley - May 20, 2019
• CBP Releases Data on Increase in Medical Emergencies on the Southern Border – December 31, 2018
• DHS Secretary Issues Statement on Death of Eight-Year-Old Guatemalan Child – December 26, 2018
• CBP Shares Additional Information of Death of Guatemalan Child While in Custody – December 25, 2018
• DHS Announces Death of Guatemalan Child at Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center – December 25, 2018
• CBP Releases Interim Procedures on Notification of a Death in Custody – December 17, 2018
• CBP Issues Statement on the Death of a Seven-Year-Old Child While in Custody – December 14, 2018

Government Reports

• DHS OIG Issues Report on Training Needs for Hiring 15,000 Border Patrol Agents and Immigration Officers – November 26, 2018

Congressional Action

• New Mexico Delegation Demands Oversight Hearing on Death of Seven-Year old Child in CBP Custody

AILA Resources

• Policy Brief: Protect Children by Ending Family Detention and Separation

Response and Resources from Advocates

• Southern Border Communities Coalition: Deaths by Border Patrol Since 2010
• Center for Migration Studies: Immigration Authorities Systemically Deny Medical Care for Migrants Who Speak Indigenous Languages – December 21, 2018
• American immigration Council’s Immigration Impact: How to Prevent More Deaths in Border Patrol Custody – December 17, 2018
• ACLU Report on Neglect and Abuse of Unaccompanied Immigrant Children by CBP – May 23, 2018
• Human Rights Way: Systemic Indifference: Dangerous and Substandard Medical Care in Immigration Detention – May 8, 2017
• American Immigration Council: Photo Exhibits in Doe v. Johnson

Media Response

• Huffington Post: Guatemalan Teen Becomes 5th Migrant Child To Die After Being Detained By Border Patrol - May 20, 2019
• CNN: Another migrant has died in CBP custody - the 4th in recent months - May 19, 2019
• CNN: Another migrant has died in CBP custody – the 4th in recent months – March 19, 2019
• Immigration Impact: A Second Child Died in Border Patrol Custody. Why Is the Government Doubling Down on Deterrence? - January 2, 2019
• New York Times: ‘A Breaking Point’: Second Child’s Death Prompts New Procedures for Border Agency – December 26, 2018
• Politico: Nielsen deflects blame for boy's death in Border Patrol custody – December 26, 2018
• Washington Post: Migrant boy dies in U.S. custody; Trump vows shutdown will last until border wall is funded – December 26, 2018
• CBS News: “We need a different approach," says CBP chief after 2nd migrant child dies in U.S. custody – December 26, 2018
• NBC News: Guatemalan boy, 8, dies in immigration custody after being diagnosed with a cold – December 25, 2018

Cite as AILA Doc. No. 18122608.