Alonzo, who'd been in CBP's custody with his dad, Agustin Gómez, since December 18, was first transported to Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center on Monday with his father after an agent reportedly noticed he had a cough and "glossy eyes."
Although the child was prescribed Amoxicillin and Ibuprofen after being check on by medical professionals during his initial visit, he ultimately returned to the center later that day, experiencing nausea, according to AP. Alonzo died just after midnight on Tuesday.
"They took us to a room that was cold and gave us aluminium blankets," one Guatemalan woman detained in 2017 at an Arizona center said in the report. "There were no mats. We slept on the bare floor. It was cold, really cold."
Another woman quoted in the report recalled how not even winter clothing could shield her from the cold temperatures.
For Gutiérrez, the only solution to the current situation is comprehensive immigration reform that paves the way for citizenship for all undocumented workers and their families. "That would really go toward a profound resolution of the inhumane tragedy that we continue to witness in our immigration policy now involving the tragic and inhumane death of children," he told Kiriakou.
In response to the death of Alonzo, the CBP announced this week that it would be carrying out medical checks on all children its facilities are holding.