(EL PASO, Texas) — An autopsy has found that a 7-year-old girl from Guatemala died of a bacterial infection while detained by the U.S. Border Patrol.
The El Paso County Medical Examiner’s office released a report Friday of its findings in the death of 7-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin. Jakelin died Dec. 8, just over a day after she was apprehended by Border Patrol agents with her father.
The medical examiner says it found traces of streptococcus bacteria in Jakelin’s lungs, adrenal gland, liver, and spleen. The autopsy says Jakelin faced a “rapidly progressive infection” that led to the failure of multiple organs.
Jakelin was one of two children to die in Border Patrol custody, raising questions about the agency’s medical practices as it faces a surge in migrant families crossing the southern border.
