Summary of Incident: Nicaraguan man dies from heat related injuries after illegally crossing the border

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 July 12, 2024, at approximately 6:19 a.m., the McAllen Police Department informed the Border Patrol’s McAllen Station Tactical Operations Center of a lost subject who had called 911, advised he was in distress, and provided GPS coordinates. Mission Fire Department was also dispatched to the area.

At approximately 6:26 a.m., two Border Patrol Agents (BPAs) assigned to the McAllen Station responded to the area and located the man at 7:12 a.m. The BPAs immediately requested emergency medical services (EMS) via service radio. The man was later determined to be undocumented and identified as a citizen of Nicaragua. When the BPAs found the man, he was unconscious and lying on the ground, forcibly breathing, and had foam around his mouth and vomit on his side. The BPAs placed the man on his side, in a recovery position.

At approximately 7:17 a.m., a Border Patrol Emergency Medical Technician arrived and began to medically assess the man. The BPAs secured the man to a backboard and transported him from the thick brush to a nearby road approximately 128 feet away. At approximately 7:18 a.m., Mission Fire Department EMS arrived and assumed primary care of the man.

At approximately 7:38 a.m., EMS transported the man to McAllen Medical Center while the BPAs followed behind in a marked Border Patrol vehicle. Once at the hospital, the BPAs established hospital watch.

Hospital medical staff told the BPAs that the man was in stable condition, but they were uncertain of his recovery. Hospital personnel also advised the man’s medical complications were associated with heat-related issues.
 
On July 13, 2024, hospital medical staff advised CBP Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) Special Agents that the man had brain function but had severe internal organ failure and had been placed on life support. At approximately 4:40 p.m., Border Patrol released the man from custody and discontinued hospital watch.

On July 17, 2024, at approximately 4:25 a.m., the man was pronounced deceased by hospital medical personnel. The McAllen Funeral Home took possession of his body.

OPR spoke with Hidalgo County Medical Examiner’s Office personnel regarding whether an autopsy would be conducted. The medical examiner told OPR that the McAllen Funeral Home retained custody of the male migrant’s body and that an autopsy would not be conducted.

CBP OPR is reviewing the incident. The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General has been notified.