Lawmakers To Tour Border Patrol Station Where 7-Year-Old Girl Died In U.S. Custody, But Won’t Be Able To Talk To Agents
Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Tuesday plan to visit the New Mexico patrol station where Jakelin Caal and her father were taken into custody on Dec. 7 to learn more about why the little girl died the next day. But the Department of Homeland Security says the majority of agents involved in the girl’s detention were union members and, as such, their duties do not include speaking to members of Congress.
The Washington Post:
After Migrant Girl’s Death, Democrats Seek To Question Border Patrol Agents Who Detained Her
Democrats with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus say they will tour a Border Patrol station in New Mexico on Tuesday to “investigate” the circumstances leading up to the death of a Guatemalan girl who collapsed hours after she and her father were taken into U.S. custody on Dec. 6. The congressional delegation, led by Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Tex.), plans to visit the border crossing at Antelope Wells, where Jakelin Caal, 7, and her father, Nery Caal, entered the United States illegally as part of a group of 163 migrants. The caucus members will then visit the Lordsburg Border Patrol station, 90 miles north, where they will be joined by Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan. (Miroff, 12/17)
Reuters:
U.S. Border Agents Will Not Speak To Lawmakers About Girl's Death
U.S. Border Patrol agents who detained a 7-year-old Guatemalan migrant girl who later died in federal custody will not speak with U.S. lawmakers investigating her death, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on Monday, citing their union membership. Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Tuesday plan to visit the New Mexico patrol station where Jakelin Caal and her father were taken on Dec. 7 to learn more about why she died the next day. (Hay, 12/17)
In other news on immigration policies —
Los Angeles Times:
A 2-Year-Old Is On Life Support In Oakland. Trump's Travel Ban Could Keep His Yemeni Mother From Saying Goodbye
The mother of a 2-year-old boy on life support in an Oakland hospital may not receive a travel ban waiver in time to say goodbye to her son, the Council on American-Islamic Relations said Monday. At a news conference in Sacramento, members of CAIR, community activists and faith leaders stood alongside the boy’s father and demanded that the Trump administration expedite the woman’s application for a waiver. (Parvini, 12/17)
