The mum of a girl who died in Border Patrol custody has said agents repeatedly ignored pleas to take her fragile daughter to hospital, as she felt pain in her bones, struggled to breathe and was unable to walk.
Eight-year-old Anadith Tanay Reyes Alvarez died on Wednesday, May 17, while in US Border Patrol custody in Harlingen, Texas.
Her mum Mabel Alvarez Benedicks said in an emotional phone interview that agents said her daughter's influenza diagnosis did not require hospital care.
However, Anadith was a medically fragile young girl, with a history of heart problems and sickle cell anaemia. Anadith, from Panama, was travelling to the US through the busy Rio Grande crossing with her parents, from Honduras, and two older siblings - a 14-year-old sister and 12-year-old brother.
"They killed my daughter, because she was nearly a day and a half without being able to breathe," said Mabel.
"She cried and begged for her life and they ignored her. They didn't do anything for her."
Anadith died on what her mum said was the family's ninth day in Border Patrol custody. Agency policy is that people are to be held for no more than 72 hours, however that rule is reportedly broken during unusually busy times.
Mabel, 35, explained that her family had crossed the border to Brownsville, Texas, on May 9. After a doctor diagnosed young Anadith with influenza, the family was reportedly sent to the Harlingen station on May 14. It's not yet clear why the family were held for so long.
Anadith woke up on her first day in Harlingen with a fever and a headache, according to her mum, who went on to claim the station was dusty and smelled of urine.
She reported her daughter's symptoms, including bone pain, to an agent, who she said responded: "Oh, your daughter is growing up. That's why her bones hurt. Give her water'."
"I just looked at him," Mabel said. "How would he know what to do if he's not a doctor?"
She said a doctor told her the pain was related to influenza and asked for an ambulance to take her daughter to hospital due to her breathing difficulties, but says she was denied. "I felt like they didn't believe me," she said.
Anadith received saline fluids, a shower and fever medication to bring her temperature down, but her breathing problems persisted, her mum explained. She also added that a sore throat prevented her daughter from eating and she stopped walking.
At one point, a doctor asked the parents to return if Anadith fainted, Mabel explained. Another request for an ambulance was also denied when her blood pressure was checked on the Wednesday she died.
After Anadith went limp and unconscious and blood is said to have come out of her mouth, an ambulance was called, her mother said. Mabel insists her daughter had no vital signs in the Border Patrol station before she was rushed to hospital.
The family is staying at a migrant shelter in McAllen, Texas, and trying to raise money to bring their daughter's remains to New York City, their final destination. Anadith's aunt, Lorena Santos, currently lives in New York and said the family's plan to was to "come to the United States" so they could "continue treatment" for Anadith's conditions.
Anadith was born with congenital heart disease and underwent surgery around three years ago, which her mum said was a success. Her treatments actually inspired Anadith to want to become a doctor in future.
The site of the custody centre, the city of Harlingen, lies in the Rio Grande Valley, which is one of the busiest corridors for migrant crossings. The US has struggled with huge numbers of people trying to cross the border in recent weeks in anticipation of the end of Title 42.
Title 42 was a Covid related restriction which allowed US authorities to quickly expel migrants at the border - in an effort to help contain the spread of Covid by reducing numbers of people in Border Patrol custody.
Last week saw Border Patrol releasing migrants in the US without notices to appear in immigration court. Instead they were direct to report to an immigration office within 60 days.
It's a move which spares Border Patrol agents from carrying out time-consuming processing duties, in turn allowing them to open up space in holding facilities faster.
