U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has reassigned its medical chief after a migrant child died in the agency’s custody recently, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
The agency reassigned its chief medical officer, David Tarantino, to begin a temporary assignment next week amid an investigation the agency began into the death of an eight-year old girl in Border Patrol custody, according to the Post. The tragedy occurred along the southern border in Harlingen, Texas, after the child experienced a medical emergency during her nine days in detention, CBP said in May, adding that it had opened an investigation into the matter. (RELATED: Top GOP Rep Releases Initial Findings Of Investigation Into Mayorkas’ ‘Dereliction Of Duty’)
Border Patrol can only hold migrants for a period of up to 72 hours, according to federal law.
(Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)
“As CBP works to implement required improvements to our medical care policies and processes, including from the ongoing investigation into the tragic in-custody death of a child in Harlingen, we are bringing in additional senior leadership to drive action across the agency,” CBP told the Post.
The mother of the deceased child believes federal authorities are to blame for her daughter’s death, which occurred shortly after an influenza diagnosis, she told the Associated Press after the tragic incident.
“They killed my daughter, because she was nearly a day and a half without being able to breathe,” the mother said. “She cried and begged for her life and they ignored her. They didn’t do anything for her.”
“During his years of service to the CBP Office of the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. David Tarantino has played a key role in significantly expanding the provision of medical care to individuals in CBP custody. As CBP works to implement required improvements to our medical care policies and processes, including from the ongoing investigation into the tragic in-custody death of a child in Harlingen, we are bringing in additional senior leadership to drive action across the agency,” CBP said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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