U.S. Immigration Policy Kills

So, a local government cooperates with ICE and subcontracts with a private prison company to detain immigrant families.  What could go wrong.

Well, for one thing sub-par care of a two-year that results in her death.  From the notice of the claim:

On March 1, 2018, Ms. Juárez, a citizen of Guatemala, and her then-19-month-old daughter, Mariee, crossed the Rio Grande into southern Texas. Ms. Juárez feared for her and Mariee’s lives and safety in Guatemala, and they had fled to seek asylum in the United States. On their apprehension near the border, mother and daughter were temporarily detained at a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol immigration processing center, then transferred together to the South Texas Family Residential Center at Dilley, Texas (“Dilley”), four days later.

Mariee was a normal, healthy, happy child when she arrived in the United States.  She had never had any significant medical problems or chronic medical conditions. The medical personnel who processed Mariee for intake at Dilley on March 5, 2018, also noted no current illnesses or health problems before clearing her for custody.

At Dilley, Ms. Juárez and Mariee were assigned to a single room with five other mothers, each with a child. Several children were ill. One boy, who was around Mariee’s age, had a constant cough and runny nose, and was very lethargic. Ms. Juárez learned from the boy’s mother that he had fallen ill at Dilley. His mother had sought medical attention for her son, taking him to the clinic very early in the morning, but the two were sent back to the housing area without being seen at that time.

Ultimately, the mother and daughter were released and sent to New York via New Jersey.  Here’s what happened when they reached New Jersey.

By the time mother and daughter arrived in New Jersey after midnight, early in the morning of March 26, 2018, Mariee’s condition was dire. Hours later, after sunrise on March 26, Ms. Juárez took Mariee to a pediatrician, who said that Mariee’s lungs had stiffened and that she was having difficulty breathing. After four hours of trying various treatments to get Mariee’s lungs to open up, Ms. Juárez and Mariee were sent home with additional medications and instructions to seek emergency medical attention if Mariee’s condition deteriorated further.

But by then it was too late. Hours later, on the evening of March 26, Mariee was admitted to the emergency room, where she presented in acute respiratory distress with a critically low blood oxygen level of 85%, requiring continuous supplemental oxygen. Shortly after admission, Mariee was moved to the Special Care Unit with a diagnosis of viral bronchiolitis versus pneumonia. She tested positive for adenovirus and parainfluenza 3. Over the next six weeks, Mariee was transferred to two different hospitals for increasingly specialized care due to her progressive respiratory failure, requiring a ventilator and later an advanced life support device (ECMO) used in dire situations.

Mariee’s condition steadily worsened, and she died on May 10, 2018, following a catastrophic intrathoracic hemorrhage that resulted in irreversible brain and organ damage with no hope of survival. The cause of death was identified as bronchiectasis, pulmonitis, and pneumothorax (collapsed lung).

This is what happens when a nation falls prey to a demagogue.