Border Enforcement and Detention

The Honduran parents of 8‑year‑old Anadith Danay Reyes Alvarez have filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. government, alleging Customs and Border Protection failed to provide adequate medical care before she died in custody in South Texas in 2023. Anadith, who had chronic heart problems and sickle cell anemia, was held for eight days in CBP facilities in Donna and Harlingen, where an internal agency investigation later found medical staff did not review documents her mother offered describing the girl’s serious conditions. While detained, she developed flu‑like symptoms, a 104.9°F fever, nausea, breathing troubles and pain; according to the lawsuit, repeated pleas from her mother for hospital care were ignored until the child went limp in her arms. A prior tort claim filed by the family was denied in October 2025, prompting this suit, which seeks unspecified damages for the family’s suffering. DHS did not immediately comment, and the case is likely to intensify longstanding criticism of prolonged detention of medically fragile children at CBP border facilities and the government’s adherence to its own custody standards.