Further details are emerging about the circumstances surrounding the death of 7-year-old Jakelin Caal, who died of dehydration and shock after being taken into custody at the US border on December 6th.
That night, U.S. Customs and Border Protection took more than 160 asylum-seekers into custody in the New Mexico desert. Among the group was a 7-year-old girl, later identified as Jakelin Caal, and her 29-year-old father, later identified as Nery Caal. Around eight hours after being taken into custody, Caal reported to officials that his daughter was vomiting and running a high fever, they reportedly ignored his concerns for a full hour-and-a-half (per The Cut).
When emergency responders arrived on the scene, they measured her body temperature at 105.7 degrees Fahrenheit (40.9 degrees Celsius). She “reportedly had not eaten or consumed water for several days.”
The 7-year-old was then flown to a hospital in El Paso, where she went into cardiac arrest and later died with her father by her side, per a statement from CBP.
The Washington Post notes that “food and water are typically provided to migrants in Border Patrol custody” however, “it wasn’t immediately clear Thursday if the girl received provisions and a medical exam before the onset of seizures.”
There is currently an investigation into the death and a Customs and Border Protection spokesman named Andrew Meehan told the Post, “Border Patrol agents took every possible step to save the child’s life under the most trying of circumstances. As fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, we empathise with the loss of any child.”
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