A teenage mom and her premature baby were reportedly found detained at a Border Patrol facility in Texas.
An immigration advocate told The Associated Press that she met with the 17-year-old girl at the facility.
“You look at this baby and there is no question that this baby should be in a tube with a heart monitor,” said Hope Frye, who volunteers with an immigrant advocacy group that ensures immigration facilities follow federal guidelines.{mosads}
Frye told the AP that the mother had an emergency cesarean section in Mexico in early May and crossed the border with the baby June 4. The mother and her daughter on Thursday were expected to be transferred to a private facility for migrant minors, according to the wire service.
The two were previously held in a facility in McAllen, Texas with hundreds of other people. Frye told the wire service that the baby had at one point been sick and unresponsive.
The girl reportedly said that officials made her get rid of a backpack with the baby’s clothing and didn’t replace it, so it was in a dirty onesie.
Frye described the baby as “minuscule” and that her head was “the size of my fist or smaller than my fist.”
The Hill has reached out to Customs and Border Protection for comment.
The Trump administration has been facing scrutiny in recent weeks, as five children have died in recent months in government custody.
Officials have lamented increasing numbers of border crossings and have asked for supplemental funding.