Border Patrol agent pours out bottles of water left for immigrants trying to cross

Good day Widdershins!

MB is away for the rest of the week so I’m taking her Tuesday post, one day late.

With all of the news concerning tRump, Cohen, Flynn and the rest of the corrupt tRump tribe, it’s amazing this story has already fallen by the wayside. However, that’s the nature of the news cycle I suppose.

We already know the basics of the story.

Jakelin Caal Maquin and her father Nery Gilberto Caal Cuz were picked up in a group of over a hundred migrants in a portion of desert in New Mexico near a Port of Entry at Antelope Wells.

DHS *said* “Border Patrol agents screened the migrants to identify any health or safety concerns.”.  Snort!  I just really have to wonder about that statement.  I dunno.

“The initial screening revealed no evidence of health issues,” the DHS statement released Friday said. “During the screening, the father denied that either he or his daughter were ill.”

Authorities said the denial was recorded on a federal form signed by Caal, who speaks an indigenous dialect.(Bolding, italics mine)

“At this time, they were offered water and food and had access to restrooms,” DHS said.

So was there someone there with CPB that spoke this “indigenous dialect” to make sure the father understood?

Then they were prepared to be transported to a Border Patrol station near Lordsburg New Mexico. This was by bus and was done in two trips.  Jakelin and her father were in the second group to be transported.  When they arrived 90 minutes later at Lordsburg, the father told officials his daughter had stopped breathing.

Border Patrol emergency medical technicians began administering medical care and called an ambulance, according to DHS.

“At this point her temperature was 105.9 degrees,” the DHS said. “Agents providing medical care revived the child twice.”

I’m sorry but we’ve seen and heard too many things about DHS and CPB (Customs and Border Protection) so I take anything they say with one.big.grain.of.salt.

She was flown by helicopter to Providence Children’s Hospital, and Border Patrol took Caal there by vehicle, a drive of more than four hours.

DHS said Jakelin was first taken to the emergency room and then transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit. She died at 12:35 a.m. on Dec. 8.

The hospital said their initial impression was that Jakelin died of sepsis.  And as the article states:

Sepsis is the body’s extreme response to an existing infection somewhere in the body that can lead to rapid organ failure and death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Okay.  I’m not a doctor or nurse, nor do I play one on the teevee and I haven’t stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.  But I have to believe that she had to be showing some type of symptoms of this at the initial intake.  At the least it would seem her temp would have been elevated.  Perhaps our medical and scientific Widdershins can share their knowledge. And again, see my statement above about believing anything from DHS or CPB.

And for another kick in the pants, there’s this:

Congress told it can’t interview agents who detained 7-year-old migrant girl who died

Some members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus were going to tour the Lordsburg Border Patrol Station and wanted to speak to the agents involved in this.  DHS said nope, nahgonnahappen.

Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Tuesday are scheduled to tour the Lordsburg Border Patrol Station in New Mexico, where agents took Jakelin Caal Maquin and her father after they illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border. The members had requested a chance to speak directly with the Border Patrol agents who arrested, detained and transported the girl and her father before she was flown to a children’s hospital and died.

(snip)

“While DHS respects the oversight role of Congress, it is important to allow the review process occur unimpeded by politics,” spokeswoman Katie Waldman said in a statement. “It is important to preserve the legitimacy of a fair and impartial process out of respect to the agents’ lifesaving mission and the family of the deceased.”

Unimpeded by politics.  Yeah right!  Glad we’re gonna have a new Congress in January.

Open thread of course.