An 8-year-old girl died Wednesday while in the custody of Border Patrol in Harlingen, Texas.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed the child "experienced a medical emergency" while she was at a migrant facility with her family.
Officials say emergency medical services were called to the Harlingen Station, and the child was transported to a local hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
"Consistent with CBP protocol, the Office of Professional Responsibility is conducting an investigation of the incident. The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General and the Harlingen Police Department were also notified," CBP said in a statement.
The news comes after authorities confirmed Friday that a 17-year-oldunaccompanied migrant staying at a U.S. facility in Florida died. The confirmation of his death came hours after the Biden administration ended the COVID-19 emergency.
Detention facilities along the southern border have been dealing with overcrowding after a surge of migrants leading up to the expiration of Title 42 last week.
The Department of Homeland Security officials said agents encountered an average of 10,000 migrants a day along the southwest border just days before Title 42 came to an end. However, the Biden administration says there was not a spike in bordercrossings as they had expected once the policy ended.
What is Title 8, the law now governing immigration?
Title 42 is still technically in place but won't be used to enforce immigration law. Instead, the U.S. is following its pre-pandemic laws.
