MCALLEN, Texas – Customs and Border Protection confirm 32 individuals have tested positive for influenza.
In a statement, CBP writes, “to avoid the spread of illness, the Rio Grande Valley Sector temporarily suspended intake operations at the CPC.” The Central Processing Center is back to normal operations.
The Central Processing Center in McAllen, TX is where 16-year-old, Carlos Gregorio Hernández Vásquez was detained for nearly a week. On Sunday, he received Tamiflu before being transferred to a Weslaco Border Patrol Station.
Vásquez was found unresponsive Monday morning during a welfare check and later pronounced deceased.
Vásquez is the fifth child death in Border Patrol Custody in six months. Border Congressmen Vicente Gonzalez and Filemon Vela are calling on top Democrats, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer along with top Republicans, Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy to investigate, “With respect to all of the minors who have died in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services Department, we hereby request that House and Senate Leadership initiate a special inquiry to assess the conditions that have led to the deaths of each of these individuals, and to determine what steps can be taken to avoid these tragedies in the future.” write Vela and Gonzalez in a joint statement.
