Guatemalan migrant boy, 16, dies in Texas while in US custody

The unaccompanied teen died on Tuesday after “several days of intensive care” at a children’s hospital, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said in a statement.

He entered the United States near the border city of El Paso, Texas and was detained by US border patrol agents on April 19, according to a statement from Guatemala’s foreign ministry.

The boy was then sent to a shelter nearly 700 miles (1,130 km) away in Brownsville, the statement added, where he was “beginning the process of family reunification.”

He ultimately underwent surgery to relieve pressure in his head, according to the ministry.

The unnamed teen was from Camotan, a town near Guatemala’s border with Honduras known for high levels of malnutrition among a mostly poor population that ekes out a living as farmers.

The boy’s death follows those of two other Guatemalan migrant children in December and warnings from US officials that more tragedies were likely given the surge in migrants crossing the border, and serious illnesses encountered among them.

The teenager was transferred on April 20 from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody to the Brownsville shelter run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which houses migrant children.

“Upon arrival to the shelter the minor did not note any health concerns,” the US government statement said.

The next morning the boy “became noticeably ill including fever, chills and a headache,” according to the statement.

Shelter staff took the teen to a hospital emergency department that morning where he was treated and released to the shelter the same day, the statement added.

SS