Houston: An 8-year-old Guatemalan boy has died in the US government’s custody in New Mexico state, immigration authorities said, in a second case this month of an immigrant child dying while being detained after crossing the US-Mexico border. Representative Joaquin Castro, chairman-elect of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, identified the child as Felipe Alonzo-Gomez.
The boy, who was detained with his father, died early Tuesday at Gerald Champion Regional Medical Centre in Alamogordo, New Mexico, about 90 miles north of the border crossing in El Paso, Texas. In the previous instance, seven-year-old Jakelin Caal, also from Guatemala, died just hours after having been taken into custody by border agents.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a news release that the boy showed “signs of potential illness” on Monday. He was diagnosed with a cold and a fever and given prescriptions before being released.
He was returned to the hospital with nausea and vomiting and died there hours later. (IANS)
