One Year After Death of Jakelin Caal Maquin, International Mayan League and Faith Leaders Condemn Children’s Deaths, Inhumane Treatment in U.S. Custody

“The death of any child is one death too many”

Washington, DC – Last week, ProPublica revealed that U.S. border officials’ callous inaction led to the death of a child, Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez, while in their custody. Yesterday marked one year since the death of another migrant child, Jakelin Caal Maquin, also from a treatable illness. 

After Carlos fell ill with the flu, writes ProPublica, he was “writhing for at least 25 minutes on the floor and a concrete bench… staggering to the toilet and collapsing on the floor, where he remained in the same position for the next four and a half hours.” His body, lying in a pool of blood, was found the next morning by his cellmate, not a border agent. 

The Border Patrol then lied about how Carlos’ body was found to try to cover up their obvious and fatal mistakes. 

Religious leaders and advocates for children and families are planning a vigil to mark Jakeline’s death in Washington, DC on December 9th, and recall the delicate lives lost due to callous policies and deliberate inaction by the U.S. government. 

“On the one-year anniversary of the death of our little sister Jakelin Caal Maquin, 7 years old, daughter of the Maya Q’eqchi’ people of Guatemala, we continue to be outraged,” said Juanita Cabrera Lopez, Maya Mam, Executive Director of the International Maya League. “Since May 2018, six Maya children and youth have died or been killed at the U.S./Mexico border. There has been no justice for Jakelin’s deaths, or the deaths of all the Maya Peoples’ children under the custody of Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). We will not stay silent and we are not invisible. The human rights of indigenous peoples are violated daily in the immigration system and in the most extreme cases, has led to the deaths of our children. Both the U.S. and Guatemalan governments are accountable and complicit for the deaths of our children – and we demand justice!” 

“Today, in the presence of the God of infinite love, we remember Jakelin Ameí Rosemary Caal Maquin,” said Carol Zinn, SSJ, Executive Director, Leadership Conference of Women Religious. “Born in Rauxruha, Guatemala, she died in El Paso, Texas in the custody of the U.S. Border Patrol. Jakelin was just seven years old. We mourn her passing; we pray for her family; and we beg forgiveness for our complicity in her death.

“We are called by our faith to care for the vulnerable and challenged by our national values to promote the welfare of all children. We promise to remember, and we pledge to act. As Catholic sisters, as women of faith, we condemn the Trump administration’s actions to deny admission to asylum seekers, to hold children in cages, to imprison families, and to use detention and deportation to punish those seeking safety in our country. We will continue to walk in solidarity with our sisters and brothers. We will accompany the mothers, fathers, aunts, and uncles who seek justice and we will never forget God’s precious children.”  

Rev. Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe, General Secretary of The United Methodist Church-General Board of Church and Society, said: “The death of any child in ICE custody is one death too many. We mourn the deaths of Jakelin, Felipe, Carlos, and others, and we remember their lives. We pray with the families whose loved ones have died in immigrant detention. And we name as sinful and criminal an immigration system that has prioritized the detention of immigrants above their health, safety, and their very lives. The United Methodist Church recognizes the human rights of immigrants, children, and all people regardless of country of origin. The Church identifies the refusal to welcome migrants to the U.S. as complicity in sin (Resolution #3281). The deaths of these children show the depths of this sin. Lord, have mercy.” 

Franciscan Action Network’s executive director, Patrick Carolan declared: “When children die of illnesses, we feel helpless and mourn their deaths. But when our government enacts policies that deliberately put immigrant children at risk of sickness and even death, we cannot stand by helplessly.  Yes, we mourn the death of little Jakelin on the 1st anniversary of her death in CBP custody, and the deaths of at least five other children in detention. But we must also cry out with righteous anger at cruel policies and work to end detention of children and separation from families.”

CWS President and CEO Rev. John L. McCullough said: “One year after the tragic death of Jakelin, children continue to die needless deaths at the hands of our government. Today we mourn the tragedy of each life lost and we stand with the families whose lives have been destroyed. Together we call on Congress and the administration to immediately end immigration detention, especially of children and families, to stop blocking asylum seekers from protection in the U.S. through MPP, and to hold the administration accountable for providing medical care for all immigrants and asylum seekers arriving at the southern border.”

“Our Catholic faith teaches us that we must put the needs of the most vulnerable first. The anniversary of Jakelin’s death and the memory of many other immigrant children lost at our southern border are a reminder that policies that turn away asylum seekers, separate families, and detain children are a failure of this preferential option for the vulnerable. The Ignatian Solidarity Network continues to work with hope that our political leaders take seriously this call to stand up for those most in need,” said Christopher Kerr, executive director of the Ignatian Solidarity Network. 

The death of Jakelin in CBP custody was a travesty- and is yet another example of the ongoing abuse at the hands of CBP that border communities are witness to every day. Even after multiple deaths, CBP still refuses to provide adequate medical care for immigrants in their custody. Just this fall, CBP decided not to give flu vaccinations to detained migrants! The lack of appropriate medical care is unconscionable, and is just one more example of why we need to end immigrant detention,” said Pedro Rios, director of the American Friends Service Committee’s U.S.-Mexico Border Program. 

“Today we remember and mourn the loss of Jakelin, a young girl who died in U.S. custody.  She did not die because our government could not save her, but rather because it would not.  Her life – and the lives of other precious, vulnerable children – have fallen victim to a government that even today chooses not to provide basic, humane precautions to protect the health of children – like providing a flu shot during flu season – with full knowledge that failure to do so leads to death.  Such callous and cruel indifference violates basic principles of right and wrong. A child is not a problem to be disposed of or caged; she is a gift from God and must be protected and cherished,” said Sister Quincy Howard, OP, NETWORK Lobby.

Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, director of Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries, said: “Our God calls us never to forget; centuries ago urging the Israelites to ‘remember I led you out of oppression in Egypt,’ and calling us to always receive communion ‘in remembrance of’ Jesus’ suffering. Likewise, we will never forget the cruel misery and unnecessary deaths of migrant children like Jakelin and others who continue to die at the border and in US detention despite repeated calls for improved health care and corrective actions for over-crowding and substandard conditions. Such conditions demand immediate attention. Our hearts cannot feel peace and our voices will not be silenced until their cries and tears receive a response of full due process and protections.”

Aine O’Connor, RSM, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Institute Leadership Team, said: “For the last year, we have carried Jakelin’s memory with us.  We have prayed for her and her family as well as Felipe, Juan, Mariee, Wilmer, Carlos, and Darlene the other children whose lives were lost because of callous actions by our immigration system.  Our hearts have been broken by the story of a young life lost by something preventable and at the hands of policies of our country, but the call of our faith remains strong and clear. As Sisters of Mercy, we will continue to pray and remember, and we will work for change because we must do better.  We will repeat these stories and their names, so that their lives continue.“

“The one year anniversary of young Jakelin’s tragic death in the Border Patrol’s custody has arrived. Yet, more tragically, we as a nation are no closer to ending this border crisis of hostility and violence. We remember Jakelin and her family and pray for them. We also pray for America and our political leaders.  This rancor against immigrants and refugees must end. They are not our enemies. We must reclaim our nation’s attention and join together to solve and stop these deaths and detentions before we lose the sense of who we are as a country,” said Lawrence E. Couch, Director of the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd.

The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of 54 national, faith-based organizations brought together across many theological traditions with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual. In partnership, we work to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of all refugees and migrants. 

Follow us on Twitter @interfaithimm

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