Family sues over death of 8-year-old daughter in Border Patrol custody

The parents of an 8-year-old girl who died in Border Patrol custody in 2023 in Harlingen, have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the federal government with the help of several nonprofit organizations. The Texas Civil Rights Project, Haitian Bridge Alliance, and Texas A&M University School of Law Civil Rights Clinic on Friday filed the lawsuit on behalf of Mabel Estanislada Alvarez Benedicks and Rossel Doney Reyes, parents of Anadith Danay Reyes Álvarez. Anadith died on May 17, 2023 in a U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing facility in Harlingen, eight days after the family crossed the Rio Grande into Brownsville, Texas from Mexico. “Without access to adequate emergency medical care in CBP custody, Anadith’s health continued to decline until she could no longer breathe. On May 17, 2023, Anadith died in her mother’s arms. Anadith’s death while in CBP custody was entirely preventable. CBP’s gross negligence directly caused her death,” the lawsuit contends.