Democratic delegation to investigate migrant child's death

Source: Politico

Reps. Joaquín Castro (D-Texas) and Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.) will lead a congressional delegation to the border Monday to investigate a migrant child’s death in the custody of U.S. agents.

Castro and Torres Small will lead at least four House members and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) to Alamogordo, N.M., where an 8-year-old Guatemalan boy died of illness on Christmas Eve. Castro has been a vocal opponent of President Donald Trump’s border wall, accusing the administration of seeking money from Congress while neglecting humanitarian provisions for migrants.

The delegation seeks to review records related to the boy’s death and to speak with the border patrol agents who were with him, according to a senior congressional aide. Castro, the chairman of the Hispanic Caucus, asked Homeland Security on Dec. 27 to preserve “any and all evidence“ related to that incident and the death of another migrant child last month. It’s unclear whether the border agents will cooperate, the aide said.

The members — including Reps. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.), Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) and Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) — will also review DHS’ secondary medical checks for children in detention that were announced after the boy’s death. There was no emergency medical technician on duty Christmas Eve when he started to appear nauseous and lethargic, according to DHS officials.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/04/democratic-delegation-investigate-migrant-child-death-1061129