US: Three-year-old dies on Texas migrant bus going to Chicago
Migrants at US-Mexico border
A three-year-old child riding on one of US states Texas’ migrant buses died, said the officials on Friday (August 11) which is the first death reported by the state since it began its controversial measure of shuttling thousands of refugees and migrants from the United States-Mexico border last year.
What do we know?
The child’s death was confirmed by Texas officials, in a statement, but no other details about where the child was from or why they became ill were immediately released by the authorities. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, the child was three years old and died Thursday in Marion County, in the southern part of the US state.
The officials in the state of Illinois said that they are working with the health officials, state police and federal authorities to the “fullest extent possible to get answers in this tragic situation.”
“Every loss of life is a tragedy,” said the Texas Division of Emergency Management, in a statement. It added, “Once the child presented with health concerns, the bus pulled over and security personnel on board called 911 for emergency attention.”
A report by the American media outlet CBS News reported that the toddler was a girl from Venezuela. According to the Texas officials, the child received treatment from paramedics and later died at a hospital.
Texas officials said that the temperature of all passengers was taken and they were also asked about any medical conditions. The bus departed from the Texas border city of Brownsville and was heading for Chicago, Illinois.
Operation Lone Star
As a part of Texas’ Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s sprawling mission on the border, called Operation Lone Star, the state has bused more than 30,000 migrants to Democratic-controlled cities across the US since 2022.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden’s administration is also suing the state for the wrecking ball-sized buoys placed on the Rio Grande, earlier this year, which pose environmental and humanitarian concerns.
The so-called operation has also come under scrutiny amid recent reports of Texas officials separating some migrant families on the border. When asked about the toddler’s death, US Representative Henry Cuellar, a Democrat whose district includes the Texas border said he was unaware about the incident.
“You can’t use the migrants as political pawns. You still got to be accountable to taking care of them, especially if you're transporting kids,” said Cuellar. He also criticised Abbott and said that the Texas governor should work with the federal government on border security.
As a part of this so-called operation, Texas has also sent buses to Washington, New York, Philadelphia, Denver and Los Angeles. In June, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the buses a “despicable stunt” by Abbott after 42 people, including some children, were dropped off in the California city.
(With inputs from agencies)
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