Honduran Woman Collapses, Dies in US Border Custody | Voice of America - English
A Honduran woman died Monday, shortly after being taken into U.S.
A , shortly after being taken into U.S. border custody. The woman, whose name was not released, crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization near Eagle Pass, Texas, the morning of June 3 and collapsed 25 minutes later, according to the CBP. The 40-year-old woman was transported to a hospital, where she was declared dead. As is the agency's standard practice, it will review the in-custody death. "This tragedy marks the second time in less than 36 hours that a person has died immediately following their perilous migration from their home in Central America, through Mexico and across our Southwest border," CBP Acting Commissioner John P. Sanders said in a statement. Her death, announced by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, follows that of a Salvadoran man a day earlier. The man suffered a seizure on June 2, within 15 minutes of his apprehension by CBP, and died shortly after, according to the agency. While in-custody deaths remain rare, the U.S border and immigration agencies are under intense scrutiny following the deaths of several children in their care since late 2018. The journey across the border to avoid the ports of entry can be deadly. Desert hiking with limited food and water, informal transportation, unreliable smugglers, and scorching temperatures lead to hundreds of deaths in the borderlands annually. In Fiscal Year 2018, CBP found 283 people dead, with the majority in the Laredo, Rio Grande Valley, and Tucson sectors. While the grim yearly tally hovers around 250-400, in some years nearly 500 migrants have died on the trails into the Southwestern U.S., according to .