A seven-year-old girl has died after being taken into custody by the US Border Patrol, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) .
The girl, from Guatemala, died of dehydration and shock eight hours after she was taken into custody, the Washington Post reported.
The child and her father were being held by immigration authorities in the US state of New Mexico it said in the article.
However, on December 7th, the girl was found to have a 41-degree-Celsius fever and was taken by helicopter to El Paso hospital in Texas where she died.
A statement by a DHS spokesperson said: “an accompanied female juvenile detainee began having seizures.”
Cynthia Pompa, advocacy manager for the ACLU Border Rights Center, said : “This tragedy represents the worst possible outcome when people, including children, are held in inhumane conditions,
“Lack of accountability and a culture of cruelty within CBP have exacerbated policies that lead to migrant deaths,” she added. “In 2016, migrant deaths increased even as the number of border crossings dramatically decreased.”
More to follow