Fifth migrant child dies after being detained by US border patrol | US news | The Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/may/20/migrant-child-death-us-border-control-latest
Federal law requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to send minors unaccompanied by a parent or legal guardian to HHS within 72 hours of determining that the child is unaccompanied.
The border patrol has faced months of scrutiny over its care of children it apprehends at the border. A two-year-old child died last week after he and his mother were detained by the border patrol. On 30 April, a 16-year-old Guatemalan boy died after officials at an HHS detention facility noticed that he was sick. He was hospitalized in intensive care for several days before his death.
After the deaths of two children aged seven and eight in December, DHS ordered medical checks of all children in its custody and expanded medical screenings.
Trump administration officials have said they have passed a “breaking point” in the immigration detention system, with the numbers of parents and children crossing the border dramatically exceeding the capacity at facilities.
