Jakelin Caal’s attorneys want independent review of girl’s death, question CBP’s transparency

Attorneys representing the family of Jakelin Caal, the 7-year-old girl who died after entering the US illegally, are asking for an independent review of the girl’s death, calling into question the Department of Homeland Security’s claim the girl’s father had not fed her food or water in days.

Caal and her father, 35-year-old Nery Caal, were found at about 9:45 p.m. in the Southern New Mexico desert near Antelope Wells on December 6, 2018. At about 5 a.m. on December 7, 2018, the girl started vomiting and stopped breathing. After she was resuscitated, the girl was flown to an El Paso hospital, where she died on December 8, 2018. Customs and Border Protection said the girl died from dehydration because she had not been fed food or water in the days prior to entering the US.

The family had only been walking for a few hours in the New Mexico desert after traveling through Mexico in a bus. They were not part of the migrant caravan, the family’s attorneys said Wednesday.

Enrique Moreno, one of the attorneys representing Jakelin’s family, said the girl’s father did sign forms provided to him by Border Patrol agents, but the father is not in a position to explain what it is he signed. The attorneys have requested copies of those forms from DHS, but their request has not been acknowledged, the attorney said.

Moreno said the girl’s father does not speak English and Spanish is his second language. “It was inappropriate to put a human being in that situation, given his limited ability and in the trauma of the circumstances,” said Moreno, “We have asked for those forms and we have not been provided with that information.”

The attorneys said the father did provide water and food to his daughter during their trip. They do not know whether the father requested food and water from Border Patrol agents.

Moreno said the failure of CBP to comply with a federal law in failing to report the girl’s death within 24 hours shows a lack of transparency. “The agency blaming Jakelin’s father shows a lack of objectivity … The father was being asked by CBP to sign statements in English. That undermines the accountability and transparency the search for the truth demands,” Moreno said.

The attorneys claim Jakelin was showing signs of distress before she was bused to Lordsburg. “They should have contacted some type of qualified emergency medical personnel before she left for Lordsburg. That was not done. The decision was made to transport her by bus to Lordsburg,” Moreno said.

The attorneys said Border Patrol agents demonstrated more urgency when it came to processing the unaccompanied minors with the group of 163 Central American migrants who crossed into the US illegally. They claim Jakelin, even though she was with her father, had the same rights as the unaccompanied minors and should have been processed with the same sense of urgency.

During Wednesday’s news conference, the attorneys said the girl’s autopsy is not final because required tissue testing could take as much as two weeks. Until that is final, the medical examiner’s autopsy report will be incomplete, they said.

The attorneys said they are not making premature negligence claims until a full and independent investigation has been completed. “Why? What did and did not happened? What happened to Jakelin? Could her death have been prevented? These questions must be answered for the benefit of her family and for the benefit of the American people, our values and our institutions. Most importantly, they must be answered so that similar tragedies are prevented,” Moreno said.

Jakelin’s father has requested a credible fear asylum interview with US immigration authorities. The father has yet to receive an appointment for a meeting with immigration authorities.

“The girl’s father has a tremendous amount of faith. He is devastated by his daughter’s death, but understands she is now with God. His family has suffered a lot and she will no longer have to suffer,” said Ruben Garcia, with Annunciation House, an El Paso shelter that works with federal immigration authorities to shelter migrants while they meet with a sponsor family.

In the wake of the girl’s death, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan released the following statement:

“Border Patrol Agents, including trained Emergency Medical Technicians did everything in their power to provide emergency medical assistance for Jakelin Caal Maquin immediately after her father notified the agents of her distress at a remote Forward Operating Base, 94 miles from the nearest Border Patrol Station. Border Patrol Agents revived Jakelin twice before emergency responders arrived via air ambulance to continue medical care. Emergency Medical professionals transported her by helicopter to the nearest children’s hospital.”

“Despite our trained EMT agents’ best efforts fighting for Jakelin’s life, and the work of the Hidalgo County and Providence Children’s Hospital medical teams treating her, we were unable to rescue her.”

“The agents involved are deeply affected and empathize with the father over the loss of his daughter.”

CBP’s TIMELINE OF EVENTS:

On December 6, 2018 at 9:15 PM, a seven-year-old female juvenile Guatemalan was apprehended with her father for illegal entry with a group of 163 illegal aliens approximately a half mile west of the Antelope Wells Port of Entry at the Bounds Forward Operating Base (Bounds FOB). There were four Border Patrol Agents on scene at the time. Upon apprehension, the Border Patrol Agent conducted an initial screening, which consists of an interview and observation of the detainee to identify any health or safety problems to ensure that they receive necessary medical care. The initial screening revealed no evidence of health issues. Additionally, the father claimed that the child was in good health as indicated on the Form I-779. Due to the extreme remote nature of the location, while awaiting transport to the nearest Border Patrol station, the aliens were held inside the Sally Port of the Antelope Wells Port of Entry and had access to food, water and restrooms. At 10:00 PM, an MCI Transport Bus left the Lordsburg Border Patrol Station route to the Bounds FOB. The Lordsburg Border Patrol Station is approximately 94 miles away from the FOB Bounds. Due to the remoteness of this area, vehicle transport between locations takes between two to three hours. Around 12:20 am on December 7, the MCI Transport Bus transported the first group to the Lordsburg Border Patrol Station. Because Unaccompanied Alien Children are a priority, UACs were on the first transport to the Lordsburg Border Patrol Station. The MCI Transport Bus returned at 4:00 AM to the Bounds FOB. At 4:30 AM, the second group of aliens including the child and her father was loaded onto the MCI Transport Bus. Just prior to departure, at 5:00 AM, the father first advised the agent that the child was sick and vomiting while on the bus. At this time, the Agents notified the Lordsburg Border Patrol Station to prepare to receive the child and provide emergency medical care. Due to the remoteness of the area, meeting emergency medical personnel in Lordsburg was the best means to provide the child with emergency care. Shortly before 6:30 AM, the bus arrived at the Sally Port of the Lordsburg Border Patrol Station and the father advised that the child was not breathing. A Border Patrol Emergency Medical Technician began to provide medical care and revived the child twice. It was determined at this time that she had a temperature of 105.7 degrees. Hidalgo County EMS arrived and began providing care at 6:40 AM. A decision was made to transport to the nearest trauma center, Providence Children’s Hospital in El Paso, Texas. Air Ambulance departed LOB with the child at 7:45 AM, she arrived at the Providence Children’s Hospital in El Paso at 8:50 AM and immediately received additional emergency medical care. Her father was transported by USBP via a government vehicle to the hospital. At 11:00 AM December 7, LOB was notified juvenile went into cardiac arrest again and was subsequently revived. LOB learned that the CT scan revealed brain swelling. She was breathing by machine and diagnosed with liver failure. She died at 12:35 AM on December 8 with her father on scene. The Guatemalan government was notified immediately and is working with the El Paso Sector leadership.