Some children detained in more remote areas were re-screened by emergency medical technicians or Border Patrol agents, officials said. In other places, some children were taken to medical facilities.
DHS wouldn't say how many children are in Border Patrol custody.
The agency also wouldn't say why Felipe and his father were detained for almost a week, an unusually long time, or why they were placed back in detention — at a Border Patrol highway checkpoint — after being released from the hospital.
Another Guatemalan child in US custody, 7-year-old Jakelin Caal, died on December 8 and was returned to her village for burial. Her death — which brought down heavy criticism on US immigration authorities — is also under investigation.
Immigration advocates and human rights groups sharply criticised CBP in the wake of Felipe's death.
Margaret Huang, executive director of Amnesty International USA, said the Trump Administration's "policies of cruelty toward migrants and asylum-seekers at the border must cease immediately before any more children are harmed".
CBP said in a statement that it needs the help of other government agencies to provide healthcare.
The agency "is considering options for surge medical assistance" from the Coast Guard and may request help from the US Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Defence and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
With border crossings surging, CBP processes thousands of children — both alone and with their parents — every month.
According to CBP statistics, border agents detained 5283 children unaccompanied by a parent in November alone.
Agents last month also apprehended 25,172 "family units," or parents and children together.
CBP typically holds children for no more than a few days.
Youngsters who arrive unaccompanied are turned over to longer-term facilities operated by the HHS. AP reported this month that 14,300 children were being detained by HHS, most in facilities with more than 100 kids.
US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said that the agency has more than 1500 emergency medical technicians on staff and that officers are taking dozens of sick children to hospitals every day.
"This is an extraordinarily rare occurrence," McAleenan told CBS of the recent child deaths. "It's been more than a decade since we've had a child pass away anywhere in a CBP process, so this is just devastating for us."
CBP officers and the Border Patrol remain on the job despite the partial government shutdown over US President Donald Trump's demand for funding for a border wall.
CBP typically detains adult immigrants for no more than a few days when they cross the border before either releasing them or turning them over to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement for longer-term detention.
Agency guidelines say immigrants generally shouldn't be detained for more than 72 hours in CBP holding facilities, which are usually smaller and have fewer services than ICE detention centers.
- AP
