McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — A lawsuit has been filed against the federal government over the 2023 death of an 8-year-old migrant girl while in U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody in South Texas.
The wrongful death lawsuit was brought Thursday against the Department of Homeland Security, CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement by the nonprofits Texas Civil Rights Project, the Haitian Bridge Alliance, and the Texas A&M University School of Law Civil Rights Clinic.
Anadith Danay Reyes Álvarez died on May 17, 2023, in a CBP processing facility in the border town of Harlingen. The Panamanian-born girl suffered from sickle cell disease and a heart condition. The plaintiffs claim that she died because she did not get “the medical treatment and life-saving emergency care that she deserved and was entitled to under the law” while in CBP custody, according to the lawsuit obtained by Border Report.
They are asking for $15 million in damages.
They say she was sick during the week that she spent in CBP custody after the family was arrested after illegally crossing the Rio Grande. At first the family was in a processing facility in Donna, Texas, but she was later sent to another CBP facility in Harlingen where she was isolated with a fever of 104.9 degrees and the flu.
CBP claimed that contracted medical care providers did not send her for hospitalized emergency care as required at the time.
The medical isolation unit at that Border Patrol facility was later shut down.
In January 2025, the Senate Judiciary Committee published their investigation’s findings in the girl’s death, which stated: “The circumstances that resulted in Anadith’s death were unfortunately not an aberration, but indicative of systemic problems with the provision of medical care in CBP facilities and CBP’s broader failure to properly oversee that case.”
The Texas Civil Rights Project and the Haitian Bridge Alliance in May filed a federal lawsuit seeking more information on the girl’s death and to obtain medical records. In July, a court report found the death was preventable.
“CBP’s refusal to provide Anadith the medical care she needed was cruel and inhumane. We are seeking justice for Anadith’s memory and fighting for a future where no parent’s child dies in their arms in CBP custody. CBP must act now to prevent another tragedy like this,” TCRP President Rochelle Garza said in a statement.
“Filing this wrongful death claim will not bring Anadith back, but it is a step towards accountability and justice for her family,” said TCRP lawyer Kassandra Gonzalez.
“It is unconscionable that a young girl was denied the medical care she desperately needed.” said Guerline Jozef, executive director of Haitian Bridge Alliance. “As we near the second anniversary of the tragic yet preventable death, we filed the wrongful death claim to seek on behalf of Anadith and her family in their pursuit of justice and accountability. We demand that Customs and Border Protection take immediate and meaningful action to ensure that no other family has to endure such a heartbreaking tragedy.”
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.