Parents sue U.S. after 8-year-old dies in CBP custody in Texas
A Honduran family sued the U.S. government after an 8-year-old girl with serious medical conditions died while in Customs and Border Protection custody in Texas in 2023, the family announced in a lawsuit filed Friday, according to the Associated Press.
The child, Anadith Danay Reyes Alvarez, had chronic heart problems and sickle cell anemia, the suit said. The lawsuit alleges she became sick with flu-like symptoms after being detained and that officials failed to provide appropriate medical care during her eight days in custody, with her detention beginning at a CBP facility in Donna before she was later held in Harlingen.
According to an internal CPB investigation described in the AP report, the investigation found failures involving medical care and said medical personnel did not review documents the mother offered detailing the child’s sensitive condition. The suit also alleges that while Anadith remained in custody, she had a fever that reached 104.9 F (40.5 C) and experienced nausea, breathing difficulties and pain.
The family said the child was not taken to a hospital until her body went limp in her mother’s arms, as described by her mother, Mabel Alvarez Benedicks, in an interview with The Associated Press. The AP report also describes the mother saying she visits a psychiatrist regularly and takes medication to help her sleep.
Anadith’s father, Rossel Reyes Martinez, said the death was “the realization of a parent’s worst nightmare.” He said the lawsuit was filed “in her memory” to ensure that no family has to endure the same pain.
The Associated Press reported that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit. The AP report said the filing follows a tort claim the family brought against the government last year that was denied in October, and that the current wrongful death lawsuit seeks damages without requesting a specific monetary amount.