LORDSBURG, N.M. — Lawmakers visiting the Border Patrol station where a 7-year-old Guatemalan girl was taken hours before her death are demanding an investigation into the response by federal agents.
Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus spoke Tuesday outside the Border Patrol station in Lordsburg, New Mexico.
Jakelin Caal and her father were taken into custody Dec. 6 at the Antelope Wells port of entry in rural New Mexico. She began vomiting and later stopped breathing while being transported to Lordsburg.
U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz, a California Democrat and doctor, questioned whether the Border Patrol should have called for an air evacuation as soon as Jakelin’s father reported her distress.
She was eventually air-lifted to an El Paso, Texas, hospital, but died hours later.
The Associated Press
