A 32-year-old man from El Salvador died Thursday morning hours after being taken into custody by Border Patrol agents in a remote part of central New Mexico, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Since the start of the fiscal year in October, the death marks the 10th such incident where a person died while in the care of Border Patrol, which is a CBP entity. The last death was announced July 5.
“The men and women of U.S. Customs and Border Protection are saddened to report that a 32-year-old man from El Salvador was pronounced deceased early this morning in Lordsburg, New Mexico,” CBP said in a statement late Thursday. “Our condolences are with his family.”
The Department of Homeland Security agency said the man was arrested around 9 p.m. MST by agents who are based in El Paso, Texas. CBP did not specify where the man illegally crossed into the U.S.
However, the man was “processed” or interviewed 180 miles west of El Paso in the tiny town of Lordsburg, New Mexico. CBP said while he was at the Lordsburg Station, “he fell into medical distress” and “attempts to revive the individual were unsuccessful.”
CBP did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding why the man may have been transported nearly three hours to a facility in a remote region.
The CBP Office of Professional Responsibility will investigate the death according to standard protocol. The DHS Office of the Inspector General, Salvadoran government, and Congress were notified of the death.
Border Patrol and the Trump administration have been criticized in recent months for what primarily Democratic lawmakers have described as substandard conditions at overcrowded federal facilities.
