There’s nothing more tragic than the death of a child, but this death has an added element of tragedy.

Yazmin Juarez’s healthy 19 month old daughter, Mariee, became ill with a respitory infection within days of being detained at the South Texas Family Residential Center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility located in Dilley, Texas, near the Rio Grande border.

Substandard Medical Care Fell Short of Government’s Duty, Plaintiff Claims

According to Juarez’s attorney, R. Stanton Jones, “the U.S. government had a duty to provide this little girl with safe, sanitary living conditions and proper medical care but they failed to do that resulting in tragic consequences.” According to Jones, Yazmin Juarez and Mariee were held at a Customs and Border Protection processing center in McAllen, Texas, for three or four days, sleeping on the floor of a locked cage with at least 25 other people, prior to being transferred to Dilley.

Detention Center Deaths on the Rise

In 2017, twelve immigrants died in detention centers, according to ICE, the most since 2009. This figure doesn’t include the number of detainees who later died from medical conditions commencing while detained. Activists believe immigration officials and detention center operators provide delayed and otherwise substandard medical care and ignore detainee’s health complaints. Civil rights proponents are hoping that suits like this, filed against the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, and the Department of Health and Human Services, will help to change things. This suit is in addition to the notice of claim Jones filed against the city of Eloy, Arizona, which was the prime contractor for the South Texas Family Residential Center facility. That claim sought $40 million for Mariee’s wrongful death.

If you or someone you love has experienced severe illness, or death, from being detained in an ICE facility, contact a local civil rights attorney. There are duties of care that these facilities must offer all people, regardless of immigration status. If you believe this duty may not have been met, call a civil rights attorney to learn if you have a legal right to damages.

Related Resources:

  • Find a Civil Rights Attorney Near You (FindLaw’s Lawyer Directory)
  • Is ICE Liable for Detention Center Sexual Assault? (FindLaw Injured)
  • Families Separated at Border File Lawsuit (FindLaw Strategist)

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