Mother Alleges That ICE Is Responsible for Her Toddler’s Death

Jazmin Juarez, 20, and her 18-month-old daughter, Mariee, came to the U.S. from Guatemala via the Rio Grande in March. They were detained by ICE and placed in the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. Mariee soon developed a respiratory infection which “went woefully under-treated for nearly a month,” according to Juarez’s lawyers. Facility workers reportedly gave her Tylenol to alleviate her symptoms, but it did not help. The toddler died six weeks after the family’s release.

“A mother lost her little girl because ICE and those running the Dilley immigration prison failed them inexcusably,” the lawyers told CNN. “We are working with Yazmin and her family to obtain justice for the failures by ICE and others, and to ensure that no other family suffers such a needless and devastating loss.”

They provided a timeline of Mariee’s deteriorating condition.

But her lawyers say Mariee’s symptoms became worse, losing weight, vomiting as well as developing fever and diarrhea. During their nearly three weeks at the facility, Juarez sought medical attention for Mariee at least five times, according to her attorneys. During her time there, Mariee received various other diagnoses that included acute bronchiolitis and an ear infection.

“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. Mariee died following six agonizing weeks in the hospital after leaving Dilley,” according to her lawyers. (Read more from “Mother Alleges That ICE Is Responsible for Her Toddler’s Death” HERE)

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