We Mourn the Death of Jackeline Amei Rosmary Caal Maquin

The Young Center mourns the death of seven-year-old Jackeline Amei Rosmary Caal Maquin, who came to the U.S. from Guatemala with her father. She died of septic shock, fever and dehydration in the custody of US Customs and Border Patrol. We are heartbroken to know that yet another child died an utterly preventable death in our country.

“No child should ever be held in a facility intended to detain adults. Jackeline Amei Rosmery Caal Maquin, only seven years old, deserved the care and protection that all children need. We should be ashamed. She deserved better from us.”

Seeking protection at our border is each child’s right under US and international law. When our government denies entry (“metering”) and forces people into the desert in search of safety, it endangers children’s lives. What will it take to stop these human rights abuses?

We are deeply ashamed that the U.S. government would point the finger at her father and his effort to provide his child with safety and a better life, when our own immigration policies likely forced this family into the desert and into CBP custody.