Summary of Incident: Illegal alien dies in custody from unreported pre-existing condition

This notification is being issued to the public pursuant to the CBP policy regarding Notification and Review Procedures for Certain Deaths and Deaths in Custody and the Department of Homeland Security FY 2021 Appropriation (H. Rept. 116-458) reporting requirements related to CBP-involved deaths.

On Oct. 1, 2025, at 8:30 p.m., Laredo South Station Border Patrol Agents observed two individuals enter the United States, via the Rio Grande, near a grocery store located on Highway US 83 in Laredo, TX. BPAs identified the two individuals as illegal aliens, detained them, and transported them to the station for processing.

At 8:38 p.m. upon arrival at the station, Loyal Source Government Services (LSGS) medical personnel examined one of the illegal aliens, later identified as a 20-year-old female citizen of Cuba. LSGS medical personnel identified the woman suffered from a preexisting condition which required dialysis. BPAs notified Border Patrol management that one of the illegal aliens required medical care.

At 9:40 p.m., BPAs transported the woman in a marked USBP vehicle to the Doctors Hospital of Laredo, in Laredo, TX. She was admitted into the hospital; and BPAs initiated hospital watch. Hospital doctors later advised BPAs that the woman required more advanced care and needed to be transferred to another hospital.

On October 2, 2025, at 7:15 p.m., ambulance personnel transported the woman and her mother to Methodist Hospital Metropolitan in San Antonio, TX followed by USBP personnel. Hospital personnel admitted the woman; and BPAs from the Cotulla Station, Cotulla, TX assumed hospital watch.

On October 7, 2025, at 5:35 p.m., LRS management received a notification from COT BPAs that the woman's health was rapidly declining. A hospital physician had her transferred to the intensive care unit, where she was intubated.

On October 13, 2025, at 9:58 p.m., the woman succumbed to her illness, and a hospital physician pronounced the woman deceased. Hospital personnel advised CBP that an autopsy would not be conducted.

CBP's Office of Professional Responsibility is reviewing this incident and notified the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is America's frontline: the nation's largest law enforcement organization and the world's first unified border management agency. The 65,000+ men and women of CBP protect America on the ground, in the air, and on the seas. We enforce safe, lawful travel and trade and ensure our country's economic prosperity. We enhance the nation's security through innovation, intelligence, collaboration, and trust.

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