3-year-old riding one of Texas’ migrant buses dies on the way to Chicago, officials say

AUSTIN, Texas — A 3-year-old little one using certainly one of Texas’ migrant buses died whereas on the best way to Chicago, officers stated Friday, the primary time the state has introduced a demise because it started shuttling hundreds of migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border final yr.

Texas authorities confirmed a baby’s demise in a press release Friday however didn’t say the place the kid was from or why they turned in poor health. The Illinois Division of Public Well being stated the kid was 3 years outdated and died Thursday in Marion County, within the southern a part of that state.

“Each lack of life is a tragedy,” the Texas Division of Emergency Administration stated in a press release. “As soon as the kid introduced with well being considerations, the bus pulled over and safety personnel on board known as 9-1-1 for emergency consideration.”

Texas has bused greater than 30,000 migrants to Democratic-controlled cities throughout the U.S. since final yr as a part of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s sprawling mission on the border, known as Operation Lone Star. The operation has come beneath a burst of recent scrutiny in latest months over further hard-line measures the governor has approved within the identify of deterring migrants from crossing from Mexico.

The Biden administration is suing Texas over wrecking ball-sized buoys positioned on the Rio Grande this summer season, saying the water barrier poses environmental and humanitarian considerations. Texas has additionally begun separating some migrant households on the border in what marks a shift by state police, who’ve beforehand stated that households ought to keep collectively.

Abbott spokesperson Renae Eze referred questions Friday evening in regards to the kid’s demise to the state’s emergency administration company, which has operated the bus program because it launched in 2022.

The kid acquired remedy from paramedics and later died at a hospital, in response to the company. The bus departed from the Texas border metropolis of Brownsville. All passengers had their temperature taken and have been requested if that they had any medical circumstances, in response to Texas’ emergency administration company, which didn’t instantly reply to requests for extra particulars Friday evening.

Illinois officers stated in a press release they have been working with well being officers, state police and federal authorities “to the fullest extent doable to get solutions on this tragic scenario.”

In addition to Chicago, Texas has additionally despatched buses to Washington, New York, Philadelphia, Denver and Los Angeles. On Thursday, Abbott freshly touted the bus program on Twitter, posting, “We’ll proceed busing migrants to sanctuary cities till Biden does his job & secures the border.”

Below Texas’ bus program, the state says migrants signal consent waivers and agree on the locations the place they’re headed. Texas officers say the buses are stocked with meals and water and that migrants are allowed to get off early at stops earlier than the vacation spot metropolis.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass known as the buses a “despicable stunt” by Abbott after 42 folks, together with some kids, have been dropped off within the metropolis in June.

Not less than 4 migrant kids have died this yr in federal custody. That features an 8-year-old lady from Panama who died in Could and had arrived with a coronary heart situation and sickle cell anemia. Final month, an impartial report discovered that Border Patrol doesn’t have protocols for assessing medical wants of kids with preexisting circumstances.