Federal and local public health officials are investigating the cause of death of a three-year-old girl and asylum seeker who died while en route to Chicago on a bus from Texas.
Jismary Alejandra Barboza González died on August 10, as the bus traveled through Marion County, located about 90 miles east of East St. Louis.
The bus traveled from Brownsville, TX and was part of Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s policy to send asylum seekers to democratically-led cities across the country, according to the Associated Press.
Illinois State Police are also involved in the investigation, said ISP spokesperson Christopher Watson.
Funeral services were held Thursday for Jismary Alejandra, who would have turned four on Aug. 25, at a church in Warsaw, Indiana.
An Illinois Welcoming Center covered the burial and funeral costs. These service centers are partially funded by the Illinois Department of Human Services.
