From USAToday:
The young girl was detained last week by Border Patrol agents after illegally crossing the southern border into the United States. She died after suffering from a high fever and seizures, according to federal immigration authorities, who said the father was ultimately at fault.
A Customs and Border Protection official said Friday that the girl was given a cursory, visual medical screening by agents when the group was initially detained. He said water and food were available throughout their stay, but could not confirm whether the girl had any.
The CBP official said the father signed a form indicating his daughter had no medical problems, and he only alerted Border Patrol agents when she started suffering seizures while being transported on a bus from one Border Patrol station to another.
"There were agents on the bus. The father could have brought this issue to their attention sooner," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to fully explain the details of the girl's death.
In the statement from the family’s lawyers on Saturday, they said Jakelin and her father, who speak Q’eqchi’ and do not speak English, were given federal forms to sign that were in English. They said Spanish is the family’s second language.
“It is unacceptable for any government agency to have persons in custody sign documents in a language that they clearly do not understand,” read the statement issued by lawyers Enrique Moreno, Elena Esparza, Lynn Coyle and Christopher Benoit.
The DHS Inspector General has opened an investigation into the case to ensure that all proper steps were taken. But DHS officials made clear that such tragedies will happen when so many people make the long and dangerous trek to enter the U.S. illegally.
"It's heart-wrenching. And my heart goes out to the family," Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Friday. "This is just a very sad example of the dangers of this journey. This family chose to cross illegally. We’ll continue to look into the situation, but again, I cannot stress enough how dangerous this journey is when migrants choose to come here illegally.”
LINK: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...pute-border-patrols-account-death/2326221002/
The young girl was detained last week by Border Patrol agents after illegally crossing the southern border into the United States. She died after suffering from a high fever and seizures, according to federal immigration authorities, who said the father was ultimately at fault.
A Customs and Border Protection official said Friday that the girl was given a cursory, visual medical screening by agents when the group was initially detained. He said water and food were available throughout their stay, but could not confirm whether the girl had any.
The CBP official said the father signed a form indicating his daughter had no medical problems, and he only alerted Border Patrol agents when she started suffering seizures while being transported on a bus from one Border Patrol station to another.
"There were agents on the bus. The father could have brought this issue to their attention sooner," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to fully explain the details of the girl's death.
In the statement from the family’s lawyers on Saturday, they said Jakelin and her father, who speak Q’eqchi’ and do not speak English, were given federal forms to sign that were in English. They said Spanish is the family’s second language.
“It is unacceptable for any government agency to have persons in custody sign documents in a language that they clearly do not understand,” read the statement issued by lawyers Enrique Moreno, Elena Esparza, Lynn Coyle and Christopher Benoit.
The DHS Inspector General has opened an investigation into the case to ensure that all proper steps were taken. But DHS officials made clear that such tragedies will happen when so many people make the long and dangerous trek to enter the U.S. illegally.
"It's heart-wrenching. And my heart goes out to the family," Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Friday. "This is just a very sad example of the dangers of this journey. This family chose to cross illegally. We’ll continue to look into the situation, but again, I cannot stress enough how dangerous this journey is when migrants choose to come here illegally.”
LINK: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...pute-border-patrols-account-death/2326221002/