A U.S. citizen died while in the custody of the Customs and Border Protection(CBP) on Tuesday evening, the agency announced Wednesday.
What We Know:
- The 32-year-old citizen, revealed to be James Paul Markowitz, was detained as a suspect in a human smuggling case Tuesday afternoon. He was being processed at a Border Patrol station in the city of Brackettville, Texas, according to a statement from the CBP.
- By about 6:30 p.m., it was said that he showed “signs of distress”. Later on, at 9:37 p.m. on Tuesday, he was pronounced dead by a medical examiner.
- The agency falls under the Department of Homeland Security and has previously faced scrutiny over its handling of people in custody. Particularly following the deaths of Guatemalan children in custody this past year.
- Markowitz’s body has been transferred to a medical examiner’s office in Laredo for autopsy, according to Val Verde County officials. As of Thursday, officials have yet to release any information on the man’s illness, symptoms, or cause of death.
It’s normally unusual for Border Patrol to detain U.S. citizens. Most American arrests come from sporadic cases where they attempt to smuggle illegal immigrants into the country, resulting in a felony in federal court.
