Guatemalan boy, 16, dies in US Border Patrol custody — 5th child dead at border under Trump

Guatemalan minor is fourth to have died in custody under Trump campaign

In the Texas Rio Grande Valley today, a 16-year-old boy from Guatemala died in US Border Patrol custody, according to a statement from Customs and Border Protection.

He is the fifth Guatemalan minor the agency has acknowledged to have died after being apprehended at the southwestern border since December, writes Buzzfeed News reporter Julia Arciga:

Officials said they found the boy “un-responsive” during a welfare check Monday morning after he was apprehended in Texas on May 13.

The boy was waiting for Office of Refugee Resettlement placement at Weslaco Border Patrol Station on Sunday. His cause of death is not yet known, and the agency is not releasing his identity at this time.

The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general, the Guatemalan government, and Congress have been notified of the incident.

We have no way of knowing if more have died, or what conditions these children live in under Border Patrol detention, because the government of Donald Trump has maintained a blockade of secrecy around the sometimes secret sites where the youth are held. We really don't know.

But I do know this.

One death was a tragedy. And it was enough.

That they've publicly confirmed and announced five dead kids already is an indicator of more grave possibilities.

Another Guatemalan Migrant Died In The US Government’s Custody — The Fourth Since December [buzzfeednews.com]