Four-year-old Boy became second minor migrant to die of respiratory disease within two days of crossing border.
Unnamed child was among a group of twelve migrants that turned themselves in on Saturday to the U.S. Border Patrol supervisory agents with the Rio Grande Valley Sector. They were located in remote areas near La Joya Texas.
An autopsy revealed that he died from pneumonia and severe respiratory failure.
CBP data shows that 557 people died at the southwest border in fiscal 2021. This period spanned October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021.
On November 17, a U.S. Border Patrol agent interviewed a woman who had crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico to America and reached shore in La Joya (Texas).
Children from migrants flee after being detained by Texas border agents in Roma on May 11.
The boy’s mother, who was also traveling with her five-year-son, immediately sought medical assistance for her youngest child because he had difficulties breathing for at least two weeks and also suffered from kidney failure.
An agent noticed wheezing, crackling, and asked to move the migrants to a park nearby to assess the child. The child was showing signs of respiratory distress as well as losing consciousness.
CBP reported that an agent administered oxygen to the boy. His condition had improved and he requested medical help around 2:28pm. That’s less than half an hours after the pair first encountered each other. The U.S. Border Patrol certified paramedic arrived at the scene to administer liquid albuterol via a nebulizer, which cleared the airways and helped clear the lungs.
The boy was transported by ambulance to Rio Grande at approximately 3:07pm and had to be transferred to Doctor’s Hospital at Renaissance around 9:02pm because there not enough beds at the medical facility.
He was admitted to Doctor’s Hospital at Renaissance half hour later and died at approximately 3:49am on Monday.
After they surrendered on May 17, migrant workers from Nicaragua and Honduras waited on the road to La Joya in Texas.
U.S. National Guard soldiers patrol an area near the border between Mexico and America in La Joya Texas, Texas. November 18
The boy’s death came two days after a 17-day-old baby boy from Mexico died at Rio Grande Valley Hospital.
His 15-year-old mom and three other migrants were with him. They voluntarily gave themselves up to Rio Grande Valley Sector officers on November 20th at around 7:15.
Agent began to process another 10 migrants. Mother continued to look after the child, who was covered in two blankets.
When the border agent saw that the child did not respond to her touching, she noticed his fists were tightened and discolored fingernails.
A Border Patrol EMT was not on duty so a supervisory agent dialled 911. The mother and child were then taken to the local grocery store, where an ambulance arrived from McAllen Fire Station at 7:45.
Paramedics took just five minutes to transport the child from McAllen to Rio Grande Regional Hospital. He was declared dead by doctors at 8:50pm.