The claim that Senate Democrats blamed Trump for a child’s death in ICE custody during Biden’s presidency crumbles under factual scrutiny, revealing instead a complex tale of genuine tragedy, political maneuvering, and the dangerous art of narrative distortion.
When Facts Collide With Fiction
The death of Anadith Danay Reyes Álvarez stands as a genuine tragedy that demands accountability, not political weaponization. The 8-year-old girl, suffering from sickle cell anemia, died in May 2023 while detained at a Customs and Border Protection facility in Harlingen, Texas. Her family begged for hospital care as her condition deteriorated. Those pleas went unheeded. She collapsed unconscious and died en route to medical facilities that should have received her hours earlier. Senate Democrats, led by Judiciary Committee member Dick Durbin, launched investigations that pointed fingers squarely at CBP operations occurring under President Biden’s watch.
📺 WATCH: The family of Anadith Danay Reyes Álvarez, the 8-year-old girl who died while in custody of @CBP talk about their tragic loss.
TCRP is representing Anadith's family & working w/@HaitianBridge to investigate her death & advocate to end the detention of child migrants. pic.twitter.com/R8MyEhqJgw
— Texas Civil Rights Project (@TXCivilRights) July 3, 2023
The Investigation That Contradicts The Narrative
Durbin’s Senate probe revealed uncomfortable truths about detention facility failures that had nothing to do with Trump. The investigation documented understaffing, inconsistent emergency protocols, and abysmal contractor oversight within CBP facilities. A subsequent GAO report detailed what investigators termed “systemic failures” in medical care protocols. Durbin himself stated that Álvarez “likely would still be alive” if proper care standards had been followed. These weren’t attacks on Trump policies. They were Democrats holding their own administration’s agencies accountable for institutional incompetence that cost a child her life. The distinction matters enormously when evaluating claims of partisan blame-shifting.
Two Administrations, Two Different Stories
The confusion appears to stem from overlapping timelines and distinct incidents. By early 2026, Trump had returned to office and ramped up ICE enforcement operations. That intensification led to civilian deaths involving adults, not children. Alex Pretti was shot while observing an ICE operation. Renee Good was killed fleeing a confrontation with agents. These deaths, occurring under Trump’s second administration, prompted Senate Democrats to block Department of Homeland Security funding bills. Senate Majority calculations showed 44 Democratic senators pledged opposition to DHS appropriations over what they characterized as inadequate accountability for enforcement violence. These actions targeted current Trump policies, not historical Biden-era custody failures.
The agency distinction also proves critical. Álvarez died in CBP custody, which falls under Customs and Border Protection. The 2026 incidents involved ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a separate agency with different operational mandates. Conflating CBP medical negligence with ICE enforcement fatalities muddles accountability chains. It also obscures the specific systemic failures that each agency needs to address. When Trump administration officials like Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino defended agents by claiming civilians “perpetrated violence,” Democrats pushed back against those characterizations. But that 2026 debate bore no relationship to the 2023 medical care failures that killed Álvarez.
The Politics of Memory and Accountability
Political memory proves remarkably selective when convenient narratives emerge. Democrats who investigated CBP failures under Biden now oppose ICE funding under Trump, but those positions reflect responses to distinct problems within separate agencies across different administrations. Mabel Alvarez Benedicks, Anadith’s grandmother, advocated for detention facility medical reforms, not partisan point-scoring. Her testimony highlighted repeated denials of hospital care despite visible deterioration. Senate investigators found those failures consistent with broader patterns documented by whistleblowers who triggered the GAO oversight review. The resulting recommendations called for improved recordkeeping, elimination of prolonged isolation for sick detainees, and custody limits under 72 hours for vulnerable populations.
Sources:
Senate Democrats Trump DHS Funding Alex Pretti – Zeteo
Texas Migrant Child Death Investigation Senate Committee – Texas Tribune
Of course. Sacrifice Biden. He is so old and has lost enough of his mind that nothing will really happen to him. Just like typical Dems. Use up theis people, set them on fire and cut them loose.
Joe blow Biden should be put in prison for the rest of his scumbag life