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Justice for Jakelin: Lawmakers Demand Answers in Death of 7-Year-Old Girl in Border Patrol Custody [democracynow.org]

 

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: We begin today’s show with the mounting outrage over the death of a 7-year-old indigenous Guatemalan girl in Border Patrol custody, as lawmakers demand answers for the conditions that led Jakelin Caal Maquín to die after being detained at the U.S.-Mexico border. Maquín died on December 8th, two days after she and her father presented themselves at the U.S.-Mexico border alongside 161 other Central American asylum seekers. She had been held in detention for more than eight hours when she began to have seizures. Border Patrol agents brought the girl to the hospital after her body temperature spiked to 105.7 degrees. The 7-year-old died of dehydration, shock and liver failure at an El Paso hospital less than 24 hours later.

Democratic Congressmember Joaquin Castro is now calling on the head of Customs and Border Protection to resign for failing to promptly disclose the girl’s death. CBP chief Kevin McAleenan testified before Congress three days after Jakelin died in Border Patrol custody, but did not mention her death in his testimony.

AMY GOODMAN: A group of Democratic lawmakers retraced Jakelin Maquín’s steps on Tuesday, touring the Lordsburg Border Patrol station in New Mexico, where she was held shortly before her death. This is Houston Congressmember Al Green.

[For more on this story by JUAN GONZÁLEZ and AMY GOODMAN, go to https://www.democracynow.org/2...d_answers#transcript]

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