Acting Border Boss Who Quit Says He Was ‘Hit Hard’ by Migrant Boy’s Death
The acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner left the job after less than two months.

American Academy of Pediatrics/Handout via Reuters
John Sanders, who quit his role as acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner after just one month, has said he was “hit hard” by the death of a 16-year-old Guatemalan boy who died in a holding cell in December. Speaking to CNN, Sanders did not directly criticize the Trump administration’s approach to immigration, but he said that the threat of raids of sanctuary cities coupled with the death of 16-year-old Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez troubled him. He said Vasquez’s death pushed him towards taking further action to prevent another similar tragedy, such as bolstering medical assistance at the border. “It hit me hard, that he was in the cell sleeping,” Sanders told CNN. “Helping the kids. That has forever changed me. And I think a lot more needs to be done for them.”
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