WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th December, 2018) The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Inspector General must open an investigation into the death of a migrant toddler who died shortly after being released from a US immigration facility in May, Congressmen Joaquin Castro, Elijah Cummings and two other lawmakers said in a letter to DHS Inspector General John Kelly on Friday.
"We respectfully request that your office conduct a review into the medical care provided by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Health Service Corps to Mariee Juarez, an 18-month old toddler that tragically died soon after being released from the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas," the letter said.
The investigation must determine whether DHS was medically negligent in a way that caused the death of Juarez.
The letter explains that Juarez first became sick with a cold that developed into a high fever. After a prolonged illness and infection, Juarez died on May 10 from pneumonitis, shortly after being released from the immigration facility, it said.
An investigation will help prevent future incidents and raise the standard of care provided to all individuals in government custody, the letter said.
Last month, the Guatemalan migrant Yazmin Juarez filed a claim against several US Federal agencies, including the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), for the death of her toddler six weeks after their release from a US immigration facility. She has filed a legal claim seeking $60 million in compensation from the US government.
In accordance with Washington's so-called zero-tolerance policy, declared in April, the US authorities have been detaining all families that attempt to cross the US border illegally, with parents being sent to prison pending trial and children taken to separate detention facilities.
Trump was forced to issue an order to halt family separations at the border after viral images of kids locked in cages sparked outrage across the political spectrum and drew intense levels of international criticism. As a result of the zero-tolerance policy, about 2,600 immigrant children were forcibly separated from their parents this spring following arrests in connection with illegal entry into the United States.
