8-Year-Old Migrant Child From Guatemala Dies in U.S. Custody

The boy died just after midnight Tuesday at a hospital in Alamogordo, New Mexico, where he and his father had been taken after a Border Patrol agent saw what appeared to be signs of sickness, according to a news release from the agency.

The boy’s death comes just weeks after a 7-year-old girl from the same country died in Border Patrol custody.

At first, the boy, whom the agency did not name, was thought to have a common cold, but staff at the hospital later found that he also had a fever, according to the agency. He was held at the hospital for an additional 90 minutes for observation and then released Monday afternoon with prescriptions for Amoxicillin, a commonly prescribed antibiotic, and Ibuprofen, which is often used for relieving pain and reducing fever.

On Monday night, however, the boy grew nauseated and vomited, prompting the border authorities to take him back to the hospital, the Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center, where he died, according to the agency.

The cause of death is not known, but an internal review will be conducted, according to the agency. It also said that it had notified the government of Guatemala.

Earlier this month, Jakelin Caal Maquin, a 7-year-old girl from Guatemala, died in U.S. custody in New Mexico. Border Patrol said Jakelin had died from dehydration, but her father, Nery Gilberto Caal Cruz, disputed that assertion, saying he “made sure she was fed and had sufficient water.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.