House women unify remember girl who died in custody under U.S. watch
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley, all participated in honoring Jakelin Caal Maquin
Newly appointed Democratic congresswomen wore pins to the State of the Union address in efforts to pay their respects to a young girl who died under U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody.
A simple gesture holds a lot of meaning.
On Tuesday, several newly appointed Democratic congresswomen wore pins to the State of the Union address in efforts to pay their respects to a young girl who died under U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody.
According to the Huffington Post, seven-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin from Guatemala died in December from shock and dehydration after illegally crossing the U.S. border.
Read More: 7-year-old Guatemalan girl dies after Border Patrol arrest
The pins showed a picture of Jakelin’s face. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley, all participated in honoring the little girl.
Jakeline died on Dec. 8 in Antelope Wells, New Mexico after a 48-hour, 2,000-mile long trek from Guatemala to New Mexico with her father and 163 other migrants.
“We are bringing Jakelin Caal into the room with us during the #SOTU,” Tlaib tweeted before the speech. “They said 12,800 children are in detention camps via federally contracted sites. Now they said it was more 15,000.”
Read More: 81 migrant children separated from families since June
News about Jakelin’s death circulated throughout the country, causing many to advocate for proper treatment of migrants and condemning the president’s policy on family separation, although the policy wasn’t effective at the time.
Jakelin’s father, who speaks a Mayan language, signed an English-written Border Patrol form confirming she didn’t have health problems. Unfortunately, during a three-hour bus ride to Lordsburg, New Mexico with her father, she started having seizures and vomiting. Jakelin stopped breathing by the time they arrived in Lordsburg at 6:30 a.m.
Jakelin was one of two Guatemalan migrant children that in U.S. custody in December. Felipe Gomez Alonzo died from under U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The agency said Felipe Gomez Alonzo was diagnosed with a cold and fever the day he died.
Democratic Congresswomen supported other causes on Tuesday evening by wearing white to support gender equality and women’s rights.
Read More: US fires tear gas across Mexico border to stop migrants
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