Toddler Died From Pneumonia Six Weeks After Leaving ICE Detention
A few weeks ago, rumors spread across the internet that a child had died in Immigrations and Customs Enforcement custody. It turned out that information was false. The Vice News report that spurred those rumors, however, is just as disturbing. It tells the story of Yazmin Juárez, 20, a Guatemalan asylum-seeker who entered the US in March and was detained by ICE in Dilley, Texas. She brought her 18-month-old daughter, Mariee, across the border with her. While in detention, Mariee developed a respiratory infection that became increasingly serious. When Juárez was released, she sought medical treatment for her daughter, but it was too late. Six weeks after their release, Mariee died.
Juárez is now taking legal action against ICE. Her lawyers told Vice:
“Instead of offering safe harbor from the life-threatening violence they were fleeing, ICE detained Yazmin and her baby in a place with unsafe conditions, neglectful medical care, and inadequate supervision,” said R. Stanton Jones, a partner at Washington, D.C.-based Arnold & Porter law firm. “While there, Mariee contracted a respiratory infection that went woefully undertreated for nearly a month. After it became clear that Mariee was gravely ill, ICE simply discharged mother and daughter. Yazmin immediately sought medical care for her baby, but it was too late.”
Doctors contacted by Vice for the article say that the treatment that Mariee received was “reasonable,” and it’s possible she would have died even if she had hospital care from the beginning of her illness. Others say that the stress of being in detention could have damaged Mariee’s immune system.