Migrant boy dies in U.S. custody, fifth child to die since December

WASHINGTON, May 20 .  A 16-year-old Guatemalan boy died Monday morning in U.S. immigration custody in the state of Texas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said.The teenager, who was apprehended and processed for illegal entry May 13 near Hidalgo, Texas, passed away at the Weslaco Station in the Rio Grande Valley Sector, according to a CBP statement.

The statement said that he was transferred from the Rio Grande Valley Sector’s Central Processing Center to the Weslaco Border Patrol Station on Sunday and was then due for placement with Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement.But the boy was “found un-responsive this morning during a welfare check,” it added.

The cause of death is not known at this time.The victim, who has not been identified, is the fifth immigrant child to die in U.S. custody since December.