Homeland Security team calls health care at border unsafe after probe of child death: report

Investigators looking into the death of an 8-year-old girl in federal custody at the U.S.-Mexico border reportedly say that border patrol facilities are unsafe and lack the resources necessary to care for migrants.

Anadith Danay Reyes Alvarez died May 17 after eight days in Border Patrol custody; she suffered from an extreme fever and had a history of heart problems. 

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) investigators said in a memo this month that the facility where Alvarez and her family were held “lacked sufficient medical engagement and accountability to ensure safe, effective, humane and well-documented medical care,” according to The Washington Post.

The memo, from DHS medical officer Herbert Wolfe to U.S. Customs and Border Protection acting Commissioner Troy Miller and seen by the Post, claims that the facility’s medical systems are poorly run and lack clear guidelines on providing proper care.

The facility where Alvarez was held had a list of doctors that was seldom used and out of date, Wolfe said.

The Border Patrol fired its own chief medical officer last week after Alvarez’s death.

DHS and the Department of Health and Human Services have come under fire from Congress for their treatment of migrants, especially children. 

Alvarez, who was from Panama, contracted the flu after four days in Border Patrol custody. But DHS investigators found that there was little way to track patients in facilities.

“There was no documented communication between the custodial and medical personnel regarding awareness of at-risk individuals or acute medical care issues,” the memo reportedly stated.

“Clinical interactions, medical assessments, and encounters were documented inaccurately within [electronic medical records], not documented … and/or not shared with subsequent medical service providers,” it added.

Border crossings have fallen by 70 percent since May, according to Border Patrol data. Miller told the Post that the average time a minor is in custody with the agency is now under 30 hours.