El Paso, Texas: An 8-year-old boy from Guatemala died in government custody early on Tuesday, US immigration authorities say, marking the second death of an immigrant child in detention this month.

US Customs and Border Protection said in a news release that the boy died shortly after midnight Tuesday.

The boy showed "signs of potential illness" Monday and was taken with his father to a hospital in Alamogordo, New Mexico, the agency said. There, he was diagnosed with a cold and a fever, was given prescriptions for amoxicillin and Ibuprofen and released Monday afternoon.

The boy was returned to the hospital Monday evening with nausea and vomiting and died there just hours later, CBP said.