Fifth Migrant Minor Dies In U.S Custody Since December

Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez, a 16- year-old migrant died Monday at a South Texas Border Patrol station. He is the 5th migrant child to die in US custody since December. Carlos was detained by border agents for six days and was transferred to another facility even after he was diagnosed with flu.

According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the boy was detained May 13 after crossing into the United States near Hidalgo, in the Rio Grande Valley. He was moved to the agency's station in nearby Weslaco on Sunday.

The statement released by the U.S Customs and Border Protection said, “A 16-year-old Guatemalan national passed away this morning at the Weslaco Station in the U.S. Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector. According to initial reports, U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended and processed the juvenile for illegal entry May 13 near Hidalgo, Texas. He was transferred from the Rio Grande Valley Sector’s Central Processing Center to the Weslaco Border Patrol Station Sunday and due for placement with Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement. He was found un-responsive this morning during a welfare check.”

Efren Olivares, a lawyer with the Texas Civil Rights Project said, “We should all be outraged and demand that those responsible for his well-being be held accountable.If these were white children that were dying at this rate, people would be up in arms," he said. "We see this callous disregard for brown, Spanish-speaking children,” reported Los Angeles Times.

The teen’s death is under review and U.S officials have notified the Guatemalan government.

It is unclear why Carlos had been detained for a week as the U.S law requires unaccompanied minors to be sent to the Department of Health and Human Services within 72 hours.

Asylum seekers and other migrants from Guatemala have been fleeing a mix of violence, drought, food shortages and poverty. The boy is the fifth Guatemalan child to die since December.