Father dies by suicide after being detained, separated from family at the border

An undocumented immigrant from Honduras died by suicide May 13 inside a jail cell in Starr County, Texas, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said Sunday.

Marco Antonio Muñoz, 39, was arrested by Border Patrol agents May 11 in Weslaco, Texas. Authorities said he was taken to a processing center, where he became "disruptive and combative," and was moved to a jail. There, he died by self-strangulation. Authorities said he was checked on by officers every 30 minutes, and there was a camera inside his cell.

Border Patrol agents who spoke to The Washington Post said Muñoz had a breakdown when he was separated from his wife and 3-year-old son. An agent said once Muñoz was told his family would be separated, he "lost it" and "they had to use physical force to take the child out of his hands." The Customs and Border Protection agency spokesperson did not mention anything about Muñoz's family.

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The Trump administration has announced it is cracking down on people crossing the border illegally, and in order to prosecute adults that are caught, families are being separated, with parents going to jail and children being placed with the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement.