3-year-old dies onboard migrant transport bus from Texas border to Chicago

A three-year-old migrant child died on one of the buses that is being used to transport asylum seekers from the Texas border to other states, the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) said on Friday. 

The child died on Thursday in Marion County, in southern Illinois, onboard a bus that was headed to Chicago, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. 

While on the bus, the three-year-old began showing "health concerns." The bus pulled over and security personnel called 911. An ambulance arrived to take the child to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. 

“Every loss is a tragedy,” the TDEM said in a statement. 

The child had crossed the border from Mexico into Brownsville, Texas with her parents. After being processed by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the family was boarded onto the bus. 

According to TDEM, every passenger on board the bus was previously asked whether they had any concerning medical conditions and underwent a temperature check. All of the migrants onboard the bus appeared to be healthy. 

Additionally, “each bus is stocked with food and water, which are distributed on board, and makes stops along the trip to refuel and switch drivers. Migrants are allowed to purchase any additional provisions or disembark at any of these stops,” the TDEM statement read.

It is unclear how the child died. Officials did not provide any further information on the incident. 

The Illinois Department of Public Health said they are “working with local health officials, state police, and federal authorities to the fullest extent possible to get answers in this tragic situation.”

Since April 2022, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has sent thousands of migrants from the Texas-Mexico border to Democrat-led states, including New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. Around 4,600 migrants have been sent to Chicago alone.