Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
7-Year-Old Migrant Girl's Death To Be Investigated By Internal Homeland Security Watchdog
Reuters: U.S. Government Watchdog To Probe Child's Death After Border Arrest
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's internal watchdog will investigate the death of a 7-year-old Guatemalan migrant which occurred after she was detained by U.S. border agents, officials said on Friday. The Trump administration defended the treatment of the child, identified as Jakelin Caal by a Guatemalan official, and said there was no indication that she had any medical problems until several hours after she and her father were taken into U.S. custody on Dec. 6. The Guatemalan government had earlier identified the girl as Jackeline Caal. (12/14)
The New York Times: Migrant Girl’s ‘Horrific, Tragic’ Death Is Not Its Responsibility, White House Says
Officials said the girl, Jakelin Caal Maquin, and her father were among 163 migrants who turned themselves in to the Border Patrol in a remote area of desert in New Mexico, shortly after the group crossed into the United States. Her death, which is under investigation, has been widely condemned as a consequence of the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration enforcement efforts on the southwest border against caravans of migrants traveling from Central America. (Nixon, 12/14)
The New York Times: Father Of Migrant Girl Who Died In U.S. Custody Disputes Border Patrol Account
The father of Jakelin Caal Maquin, the 7-year-old Guatemalan girl who died in United States custody this month, disputed on Saturday the assertion by authorities that his daughter had not eaten or consumed water for several days before being detained by the Border Patrol. Jakelin’s father, Nery Gilberto Caal Cruz, “made sure she was fed and had sufficient water,” Mr. Caal Cruz’s lawyers said in a statement read by Ruben Garcia, the director of a shelter in El Paso that serves recent border crossers. The shelter, Annunciation House, is caring for Mr. Caal Cruz. (Romero, 12/15)
The Wall Street Journal: Family Of Guatemalan Girl Who Died In U.S. Custody Calls For Fair Probe
Customs and Border Protection reported earlier this week that Jakelin hadn’t had any food or water for days before crossing the border. Mr. Caal said in the statement through his lawyers that wasn’t true. Mr. Caal, via his statement, also thanked emergency responders, including Border Patrol agents, who tried to save his daughter. Ruben Garcia, executive director of the El Paso aid group and migrant shelter operator Annunciation House, read the statement to reporters Saturday. Mr. Garcia said Mr. Caal was staying at one of the group’s shelters and wouldn’t be speaking publicly. (Caldwell, 12/15)
The Associated Press: Child's Death Highlights Communication Barriers On Border
Shortly before a 7-year-old Guatemalan girl died in U.S. custody, her father signed a form stating that his daughter was in good health. But it's unclear how much the man understood on the form, which was written in English and read to him in Spanish by Border Patrol agents. (Watson, 12/16)
The Associated Press Fact Check: Trump Floats Fictions About The Border
President Donald Trump's relationship with the truth tends to be borderline, at best, when it comes to the border. So it was this past week when he made a flurry of false or unsupported statements about immigration. He said, with no evidence, that migrants are plagued with disease. He asserted that Mexico has in effect agreed to pay for his border wall, even as he threatens a partial government shutdown if Congress doesn't approve billions of dollars to build it. He twisted federal statistics to claim the recent arrest of 10 terrorists who don't exist. (Woodward and Yen, 12/15)
The Associated Press: O'Rourke, Other Dems Don't Want Tent City's Contract Renewed
Rep. Beto O'Rourke and four other Democratic members of Congress toured a remote tent city in West Texas on Saturday where they said that 2,700 immigrant teens are being held at a cost of roughly $1 million per day. The lawmakers urged the nonprofit running the facility not to renew a federal contract that expires Dec. 31, a longshot request that could effectively shutter the camp. (Weissert, 12/15)
