8-year-old who died in US Customs and Border Protection custody identified by the Honduran Foreign Ministry
By Rosa Flores and Zoe Sottile, CNN
(CNN) — The Honduran Foreign Ministry has identified the 8-year-old girl who died in US Customs and Border Protection custody in Harlingen, Texas, as Anadith Danay Reyes Alvarez.
Reyes died Wednesday at a Harlingen hospital and her family is receiving consular services from the Honduran consulate in McAllen, Texas, according to a news release issued by the foreign ministry.
“The Honduran Consulate in McAllen, Texas has asked US Border Patrol for the respective report related to the death of the minor,” the release stated.
A complete autopsy has been ordered, according to Justice of the Peace Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family,” Garcia said.
On Wednesday, US Customs and Border Protection announced the girl had “experienced a medical emergency” while at a Border Protection facility with her family. She was pronounced dead at a local hospital, according to the news release. The release added the agency is conducting an investigation, and has notified the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General and the Harlingen Police Department.
The girl’s parents have been released from immigration custody and will be headed to New York to meet up with family, the Honduran Foreign Ministry told CNN.
Once in New York, the family plans to attend their immigration court hearings and request asylum, according to the ministry.
The Honduran Foreign Ministry is working to help the Reyes family with the transfer of their daughter’s body to New York, where she will likely be buried, the ministry said.
Reyes’ death came days after an unaccompanied 17-year-old from Honduras died in Florida while in the care of the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement.
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