San Diego, October 18 (RHC)-- In the U.S. state of California, a 29-year-old asylum seeker from Guinea has reportedly died while being held by U.S. immigration officials in an open-air detention camp along the San Diego border. 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection provided few details of what happened, and a cause of death has not been determined.  Immigration and human rights groups had repeatedly warned of heat waves and other dangers faced by thousands of asylum seekers — including babies and toddlers — detained in the outdoor Border Patrol desert camps near Jacumba Springs.   The agency has been accused of failing to provide adequate food, water, hygiene products and medical care. 

Erika Pinheiro of Al Otro Lado said in a statement: “This is the first death, but will not be the last if Border Patrol continues to use these camps in a futile and inhumane attempt to deter migrants rather than process them expeditiously.”