Migrant Kids Get Medical Checks After Second Death in Custody - US Border Agency

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said that it had been carrying out medical checks on all children being held in its detention facilities for undocumented migrants in the wake of the death of a second migrant child in the agency's custody in less than a month.

"US Border Patrol is conducting secondary medical checks upon all children in CBP care and custody, including children arriving as part of Family Units (FMUA) and Unaccompanied Children (UACs), with a focus on children under 10 years old," US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan said in a statement on Tuesday.

A short-term increase in transportation for the undocumented migrants is also under consideration by the US border agency, according to the statement.

READ MORE: Second Migrant Child Dies at US-Mexico Border

McAleenan added that US Border Patrol is "engaging US Immigration and Customs Enforcement regarding available surge options for transportation to Family Residential Centers and/or supervised release. CBP is also reviewing all available custody options to relieve capacity issues in Border Patrol stations and checkpoints in El Paso Sector." 

The remarks come after on Tuesday, the CBP said that an 8-year-old Guatemalan boy died after being apprehended with his father over an illegal attempt to enter the United States. Prior to that, on December 8, a seven-year-old Guatemalan girl died in detention after being apprehended along with her father. The US authorities said that the girl had not had food or water for several days. According to human rights activists, the seven-year-old died from a septic shock, fever and dehydration.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has repeatedly been criticized for its "zero tolerance" policy of separating undocumented immigrants from their children. Trump was forced to issue an order ending family separations at the US-Mexico border after viral images of kids locked in cages sparked outrage across the political spectrum and drew intense levels of international criticism.