Democrats Largely Quiet as Second Migrant Child Dies on Biden's Watch

Democrats have been largely quiet as another migrant child died in Border Patrol custody on Wednesday after agents reportedly ignored calls for medical attention.

Mabel Alvarez Benedicks, the child's mother, told the Associated Press on Friday that her 8-year-old daughter felt pain in her bones, was not capable of walking and struggled to breathe. She said that agents repeatedly ignored pleas to take her daughter, Anadith Tanay Reyes Alvarez, to a hospital to treat her influenza. She had been previously diagnosed by a doctor.

The agents said that the child's condition didn't require hospital care, according to the child's mother, even though they knew she had a medical history of heart problems and sickle cell anemia.

"They killed my daughter because she was nearly a day and a half without being able to breathe," the mother said. "She cried and begged for her life and they ignored her. They didn't do anything for her."

Benedicks, her husband, and three children crossed the border to Brownsville, Texas, on May 9 and spent nine days in Border Patrol custody, which was a violation of the agency's policy that states that people shouldn't be held for more than 72 hours. No details were revealed about why the family was held that long.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a statement on Wednesday that the girl was in custody with her family at a station in Harlingen, Texas, where medical assistance was called. They added that the 8-year-old was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.

"Consistent with CBP protocol, the Office of Professional Responsibility is conducting an investigation of the incident. The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General and the Harlingen Police Department were also notified. Additional information will be made available in accordance with CBP's policy regarding deaths in custody," the agency said in a statement on its website.

The migrant child's death comes shortly after Title 42 officially ended when the COVID-19 public health emergency was lifted on May 11. The immigration policy was introduced during the Trump administration, allowing a quick denial of asylum seekers due to the pandemic in order to control the possible spread of COVID-19. The end of Title 42 was accompanied by a surge in the number of migrants coming to the U.S.-Mexico border. Mexican government data quoted by The New York Times shows that tens of thousands of migrants have crossed Mexican territory to reach the United States border since early April.

Another migrant minor also died in custody at the government-operated Office of Refugee Resettlement facility in Florida last week. Ángel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza, 17, a Honduran national reportedly died after being transferred to an area hospital from a shelter operated by the Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services nonprofit in Safety Harbor, a small city off the western shore of Tampa Bay.

The cause of the teen's death remains unknown, but the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said that a medical examiner investigation is underway. His mother, Norma Saraí Espinoza Maradiaga, told the AP last Sunday that her son had epilepsy since he was 8 years old, but his condition didn't pose a threat, adding that his seizures were brief and not serious. He also didn't seem to be seriously ill when he left for the U.S.

Megan McKenna, the senior director of communications and public engagement at Kids in Need of Defense, told Newsweek that the Biden administration should hire child welfare professionals at the border because CBP officers are trained in law enforcement and lack the expertise to deal with migrant children.

"Child welfare professionals can ensure the appropriate care and treatment of these children and identify any concerns or particular needs a child may have," McKenna said.

President Joe Biden was criticized by some Republicans over the migrant children's deaths. Senate Republicans, a Twitter account affiliated with GOP senators, tweeted on Thursday that the incidents were another "tragic example of the humanitarian crisis Joe Biden created at our border."

"Joe Biden & Alejandro Mayorkas aren't just causing a crisis at the border... they're causing death. The death of this child is on them!" Representative Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican, wrote on Twitter last week.

Democratic lawmakers, however, seemed to have no reaction so far about the deaths, even though some of them were vocal of the Trump administration in 2018 when two migrant children died in U.S. custody and demanded an investigation into the deaths.

However, Representative Lauren Underwood, an Illinois Democrat, said during an interview on Face the Nation last Sunday that "we shouldn't have children dying in our custody" when she was asked about her thoughts about migrant children dying in U.S. custody.

"And we have to continue to make sure that there is robust support along the border for those institutions—those agencies that are caring for migrant children, to making sure that they are getting the needed medical care. And I'm certainly focused on doing a thorough investigation of these deaths," she said, adding that children dying in U.S. custody is "unacceptable."

Earlier this year, Democrats expressed their concern in a letter to Biden about introducing rules that would make it harder for migrants to seek asylum and opposed the expansion of Title 42. Some of the Democratic Congress members included Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib, Vermont Senator Peter Welch, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Oregon Senator Ron Wyden.

Meanwhile, in a statement emailed to Newsweek, Jennifer Nagda, chief programs officer at the Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights, said that the "only way" to prevent such deaths is to "stop jailing families" and children and for the Biden administration to establish "welcoming" centers at the border where all asylum-seekers can be processed safely by immigration officials while being provided with with food, clothing, transportation, and proper medical care.

"There will never be a world where children are safe in jails. For years, immigrants seeking safety have been detained in what many migrants have termed 'las hieleras'-- jail cells along the border known for their frigid temperatures, overcrowded spaces, and deeply inhumane conditions. That is where this little girl [Anadith Tanay Reyes Alvarez] was held when she died," Nagda said.

She continued: "We are enraged that this administration has continued to turn its back on children and families seeking safety, rather than offer compassion and care. No parent should have to beg for their child to get basic medical attention and be forced to watch as their child's health worsens to the point where they cannot be saved."

Conchita Cruz, co-executive director at the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, told Newsweek that migrant detention facilities are already overcrowded and understaffed. They also are "rampant with human rights violations," making them unsafe for migrant children and their families, she said.

"They are not a safe environment for anyone, let alone families and children," Cruz continued. "People fleeing from violence and persecution to seek asylum in the United States must be met with compassion and dignity, not placed in humiliating and dangerous conditions."

Update, 05/21/2023, 6 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to include comments from Jennifer Nagda of the Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights.

Update, 05/25/2023, 1:37 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to include comments from Conchita Cruz of the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project and Megan McKenna of Kids in Need of Defense.