CBP reassigns chief medical officer after death of migrant child: report

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has reassigned its chief medical officer after an 8-year-old migrant child died in Border Patrol custody last month, according to The Washington Post.

Chief Medical Officer David Tarantino has reportedly received a temporary assignment elsewhere within the agency.

“During his years of service to the CBP Office of the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. David Tarantino has played a key role in significantly expanding the provision of medical care to individuals in CBP custody,” the agency said in a statement to The Hill.

“As CBP works to implement required improvements to our medical care policies and processes, including from the ongoing investigation into the tragic in-custody death of a child in Harlingen, we are bringing in additional senior leadership to drive action across the agency,” it continued.

An 8-year-old girl died in Border Patrol custody in Harlingen, Texas, last month, shortly after she and her family crossed the southern border. 

According to an investigation by CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility, a nurse practitioner at the facility declined to review documents about the girl’s medical history, which noted her history of congenital heart disease and sickle cell anemia, and denied several requests from the girl’s mother for an ambulance.

“The recent in-custody death of an eight-year-old child in our custody in Harlingen, Texas was a deeply upsetting and unacceptable tragedy,” acting CBP commissioner Troy Miller said in a statement earlier this month. “We can — and we will — do better to ensure this never happens again.”