Family sues US over 8-year-old's death in custody after crossing the
border
[April 11, 2026]
By VALERIE GONZALEZ
McALLEN,
Texas (AP) — The Honduran family of an 8-year-old girl with a heart
condition who died in U.S. custody after crossing the border in 2023
sued the federal government on Friday.
Anadith
Danay Reyes Alvarez, who had chronic heart problems and sickle cell
anemia, got sick with flu-like symptoms and died after being detained
for eight days in a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility in
Donna, then later Harlingen, Texas. |
Mabel Alvarez Benedicks, mother of Anadith Danay Reyes Alvarez, center,
greets a guest during the wake for her 8-year-old daughter at R.G. Ortiz
Funeral Home in New York, on Friday, June 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeenah
Moon, File) |
|
An internal CPB investigation found found failures in providing
proper medical care and that medical personnel did not review
documents the mother offered which described the girl's
sensitive condition. In custody, Anadith had a high fever of
104.9 F (40.5 C) as well as nausea, breathing difficulties and
pain.
Despite pleas from her mom, the child was not taken to a
hospital until her body went limp in her mother's arms. Mabel
Alvarez Benedicks described her daughter's death in an emotional
interview with The Associated Press later that week.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately
respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
Friday's wrongful death lawsuit follows a tort claim made
against the government last year which was denied in October.
The lawsuit is seeking to cover damages suffered by the family
but does not request a specific monetary amount.
The child's mother said she visits a psychiatrist regularly and
takes medication to help her sleep. Her father, Rossel Reyes
Martinez, said their daughter's death was the realization of a
parent's worst nightmare.
“That is why we are filing this lawsuit today in her memory, to
ensure that no family has to endure the same pain we have
endured,” her father said Thursday.
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