Children in Cages: CBP Overcrowding, Freezing Cells, and Documented Child Deaths
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.
Record summary
Grade
Grade 5 of 5: War Crime / Crime Against Humanity
Conduct that satisfies the legal elements of a war crime under the Rome Statute (Article 8), a crime against humanity (Article 7), or genocide (Article 6). Scale and definitions
- Status
- Concluded
- Incident date
- Record updated
- Location
- CBP facilities, U.S.-Mexico border
- Category
- Deportation to Torture
- Legal posture
- Reported
- War-crime classification
- Confirmed
- Verification
- Independently verified
- ICC relevance
- Yes
- Civilian casualties
- 7
- Sources
- 5 cited
- Stable ID
children-cages-cbp-overcrowding-crisis- Victims
- At least 7 children who died in U.S. Border Patrol or ICE custody 2018-2019; thousands of migrant children held in conditions the DHS OIG described as dangerous
- Alleged responsible parties
- Donald Trump, President of the United States— White House
- Kevin McAleenan, CBP Commissioner; acting DHS Secretary— CBP / DHS
Key points
- DHS Inspector General inspections in 2019 found Border Patrol facilities that were severely overcrowded — one station designed for 125 people held 900; children were sleeping on concrete floors with only emergency blankets
- The OIG described the conditions as presenting 'immediate risk' to detainee health and safety and called for urgent corrective action in the strongest language the agency used
- At least seven children died in U.S. immigration custody during fiscal years 2018-2019, compared to zero in the prior decade — a dramatic increase attributed to expanded enforcement with inadequate medical support
- Jakelin Caal Maquín, 7, died December 8, 2018, after being apprehended with her father; she had not eaten or drunk water in days and developed a fever; CBP medical staff did not identify her condition until she began having seizures
- Felipe Gómez Alonzo, 8, died Christmas Eve, December 24, 2018, after being held at a Border Patrol station; he had been evaluated and released as healthy, then returned hours later with a fever and vomiting
- Trump defended the conditions in tweets and press statements, suggesting the poor conditions were the migrants' own fault for coming: 'Our Facilities are Cat 5 — totally modern and clean.'
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.
International law engaged
| Instrument | Provision | What it protects or prohibits |
|---|---|---|
| Convention on the Rights of the Child | Articles 3, 24, 27 | Children have the right to the highest attainable standard of health; states must ensure basic conditions including food, water, and shelter to children in their custody |
| UN Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules) | Rules 1, 12-17, 24 | Minimum standards for sanitation, accommodation, and medical care in detention — violated by documented conditions in CBP holding facilities |
| Convention Against Torture | Article 16 | Prohibition on cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment — denying children food, water, sleep, and medical care in overcrowded cells constitutes such treatment |
Update log
-
Updated with final first-term custody death count.
Sequence of events
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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