An immigrant family whose 8-year-old daughter died in U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody in South Texas has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in federal court, accusing the government of ignoring clear medical red flags until it was too late. The complaint, filed April 10, 2026, alleges that CBP officers and contracted medical staff failed to get young Anadith Danay Reyes Álvarez to a hospital during an eight-day detention after the family crossed the border. The suit seeks damages but does not list a specific dollar amount.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Anadith, who had chronic heart problems and sickle cell anemia, developed flu-like symptoms while in custody. Her condition allegedly included a fever of 104.9 F (40.5 C), nausea and trouble breathing. Her mother, Mabel Alvarez Benedicks, told reporters she repeatedly begged staff to transfer her daughter to a hospital and showed documents detailing the child’s medical history. Staff did not move Anadith to a hospital before she became unresponsive, the family says, and they argue that those delays and missteps led directly to her death on May 17, 2023.
An internal Customs and Border Protection review later found serious failures in the agency’s medical response and concluded that medical personnel did not review the records Anadith’s mother tried to provide, the Associated Press reported. After the incident, CBP reassigned the Border Patrol’s chief medical officer, according to reporting, and officials have faced ongoing scrutiny over how vulnerable migrants are screened, monitored and sent for higher-level care.
What investigators found
A U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee investigation, released in January, concluded that Anadith’s death “was not aberrant but consistent with other examples of poor care in CBP custody,” according to the Senate Judiciary Committee report. Investigators documented chronic understaffing, prolonged detentions that stretched well past CBP’s own 72-hour guidance, and weak oversight of contractor-provided medical services.
The report recommends a slate of changes, including better sharing of medical records, stronger authority for clinicians to send people to hospitals when needed, and more independent oversight of medical care in CBP facilities. For advocates who had been warning about these gaps for years, the findings read less like a surprise and more like confirmation.
Legal background
Advocacy organizations including the Texas Civil Rights Project and the Haitian Bridge Alliance previously filed an administrative wrongful-death claim and a FOIA lawsuit seeking access to Anadith’s records, the Haitian Bridge Alliance noted in a press release. Those groups have said CBP obstructed access to medical documents and earlier sought roughly $15 million in damages as part of their push for accountability, steps that set the stage for this week’s federal lawsuit.
What the lawsuit says and what comes next
The family’s new complaint follows a tort claim that federal officials denied in October 2025. The lawsuit again asks the court to award damages but does not name a specific amount, according to the Associated Press. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and CBP issued public updates in May 2023 as internal reviews continued, per CBP’s May 21, 2023 update.
Anadith’s father, Rossel Reyes Martinez, said the lawsuit is being filed “to ensure that no family has to endure the same pain we have endured,” the AP reported.
Families and advocates call for change
Advocates say Anadith’s death laid bare systemic weaknesses that still linger across CBP stations and processing sites, from understaffed infirmaries to confusion over who has the authority to order a hospital transfer. They argue that the new lawsuit could pry open more details through discovery and public hearings and could force the government to answer, under oath, how and why care went wrong.
If the case moves forward, it will test whether congressional and watchdog recommendations have been carried out inside CBP facilities and whether contractors and agency officials will be held to account. The complaint was filed April 10, 2026; upcoming procedural deadlines, federal responses and any discovery disputes will shape how quickly more information becomes public. For advocates and families along the border, the lawsuit is the latest step in a long-running campaign to hold CBP responsible for medical care failures in its custody.
