Children in Cages: CBP Overcrowding, Freezing Cells, and Documented Child Deaths
Last updated
The CBP Border Patrol stations along the southern border were designed for 72-hour holding. Under the Trump administration's enforcement surge, they held children for days and weeks, sometimes in chainlink-fenced areas — the 'cages' — without adequate food, water, sleep, or sanitation. At least seven children died in custody in fiscal years 2018-2019, compared to zero in the previous decade. The DHS OIG described conditions presenting 'immediate risk' to detainee health and safety.
Overview
The Border Patrol facilities along the southern border were designed as short-term processing centers. Their design standard called for holding adults for no more than 72 hours. They were not built as, staffed as, or equipped as detention facilities for children.
Under the Trump administration's border enforcement surge, they became exactly that — warehouses for migrant children, some held for weeks, in conditions the government's own Inspector General described as presenting immediate risks to health and safety.
What the DHS Inspector General Found
The DHS OIG's May 2019 report, based on unannounced inspections of CBP facilities, documented:
- A facility designed to hold 125 people holding over 900
- Children sleeping on concrete floors with only emergency foil blankets
- Detainees going days without showers or basic hygiene
- Single-occupancy cells holding families of 6 or more
- Detainees denied adequate food and water
The OIG used the language "immediate risk" — the strongest language available in its framework — to describe the conditions. It recommended urgent corrective action. The administration disputed the characterization.
The Deaths
Seven children died in U.S. immigration custody in fiscal years 2018-2019. The prior decade had seen zero child deaths in custody.
Jakelin Caal Maquín was 7 years old. She was apprehended with her father after crossing the border near Lordsburg, New Mexico. She had not eaten or drunk water for days. She collapsed at the Border Patrol station, developed a fever and began seizing, and died in an El Paso hospital.
Felipe Gómez Alonzo was 8 years old and died on Christmas Eve. He had been examined by medical staff, deemed healthy, and returned to holding. Hours later he was vomiting and feverish. He died in a New Mexico hospital.
The Administration's Response
Trump responded to criticism of detention conditions by suggesting the conditions were migrants' own fault for coming. In tweets, he called reports of poor conditions dishonest and claimed the facilities were "totally modern and clean."
The DHS Inspector General — the administration's own watchdog — disagreed.
Timeline
Sequence of events
October 22, 2018
Tent cities erected for migrant families
CBP begins erecting tent facilities near the border to handle the surge in migrant detentions following Zero Tolerance and related enforcement operations.
December 8, 2018
Jakelin Caal Maquín dies in CBP custody
Jakelin Caal Maquín, 7, dies in CBP medical custody in El Paso. She and her father had been apprehended by Border Patrol after crossing near Lordsburg, New Mexico. She had not eaten or drunk water for days and collapsed at the station. CBP medical staff did not detect her condition before she began seizing.
December 24, 2018
Felipe Gómez Alonzo dies on Christmas Eve
Felipe Gómez Alonzo, 8, dies in CBP custody in Alamogordo, New Mexico. He had been evaluated by medical staff earlier in the day and deemed healthy; he was returned hours later with fever and vomiting and could not be revived.
May 1, 2019
OIG: CBP facilities present 'immediate risk'
The DHS Inspector General releases a report after unannounced inspections of CBP facilities finding conditions presenting 'immediate risk' to detainee health. One facility designed for 125 holds 900 people. Migrants report sleeping on floors, denied showers, and given limited food.
June 12, 2019
AP documents five additional child deaths
The Associated Press documents at least five additional child deaths in immigration custody, noting that all seven child deaths occurred within a 14-month period after nearly a decade with zero such deaths — raising questions about inadequate medical screening.
July 2, 2019
NYT documents conditions in Texas facility
New York Times reporters gain access to a Border Patrol facility in Clint, Texas, and document children as young as 8 caring for toddlers, sick children denied basic care, and overcrowded conditions far exceeding designed capacity.
Sources
- ↑ Special Review — Initial Observations Regarding Family Separation Issues Under the Zero Tolerance Policy — DHS Office of Inspector General
- ↑ Inside a Texas Building Where the Government Is Holding Immigrant Children — The New York Times
- ↑ Migrants in CBP short-term facilities held for weeks, not hours — The Washington Post
- ↑ 7 children have died in immigration custody. Here's what we know. — The Associated Press
- ↑ Trump defends detention conditions: 'That's what they are' — CBS News
Verification