Christmas tragedy: 8-year-old migrant dies in US custody

Neighbours carry the coffin that contain the remains of 7-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin into her grandparent's home in San Antonio Secortez, Guatemala. Photos / AP

A US Border Patrol agent works on the beach preventing migrants from entering San Diego, as seen from Tijuana, Mexico.

An 8-year-old Guatemalan child detained by US Customs and Border Patrol died today at a hospital in New Mexico, the agency reported.

The unidentified child is the second border-crosser to die in government custody this month.

Seven-year-old Jakelin Caal died on December 7 of dehydration and shock, less than a day after she was apprehended by border agents.

In the second case, an agent noticed that the child had become ill. The boy and his father were taken to Gerald Champion Regional Medical Centre in Alamogordo, New Mexico, where the boy was diagnosed with a cold, according to a CBP news release.

Later, he was found to have a fever and was held for an additional 90 minutes before he was released with prescriptions for an antibiotic and Ibuprofen.

But the child became more seriously ill, when he vomited, and was taken back to the hospital. He died shortly after midnight on Christmas Day.

The cause of the child's death is not known. An investigation into CBP actions will be conducted, the news release said.