A Sixth Child Died in U.S. Custody

[Content Note: Nativism; child abuse; death.]

We know that five children have died in or following a stint in U.S. Custody since December 2018: 7-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin, 8-year-old Felipe Alonzo-Gomez, 16-year-old Juan de León Gutiérrez, a still-unidentified 2-year-old boy, and 16-year-old Carlos Gregorio Vasquez.

Now, CBS News has learned that a sixth child, a 10-year-old girl from El Salvador, died in U.S. custody last September.

[CN: video may autoplay at link] Graham Kates and Angel Canales report:

Mark Weber, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), said in a statement to CBS News that the girl had a history of congenital heart defects. Weber said when she entered the care of an Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) facility in San Antonio, Texas, on March 4, 2018, she was in a "medically fragile" state.

"Following a surgical procedure, complications left the child in a comatose state. She was transported to a nursing facility in Phoenix, Arizona for palliative care in May after release from a San Antonio hospital," Weber said. "On September 26, she was transferred to an Omaha, Neb., nursing facility to be closer to her family. On September 29, the child was transported to Children's Hospital of Omaha where she passed due to fever and respiratory distress."

...Manuel Castillo, Consulate General of El Salvador in Aurora, told CBS News his office had no knowledge of the girl's death. Castillo said the office was caught off guard by the news, and was hoping CBS News report would help him track down the family. Castillo said concerned local residents called him, saying, "We can't let this happen again."

In an interview with CBS News Wednesday, Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, accused the administration of concealing the girl's death.

"I have not seen any indication that the Trump administration disclosed the death of this young girl to the public or even to Congress," Castro said. "And if that's the case, they covered up her death for eight months, even though we were actively asking the question about whether any child had died or been seriously injured. We began asking that question last fall."

Castro, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said he is going to demand more information from the government about the girl.

"We're going to make immediate inquires to HHS to find out what happen to this young girl," Castro said.

Rep. Joaquin Castro is the brother of presidential candidate Julián Castro.

It's sad and rage-making that this girl died while in U.S. custody. It is also profoundly troubling that her death was concealed until this point, once more raising the question: How many other deaths have there been that we don't know about?

I keep writing one, two, three, four, five, six deaths that we know of, and I always desperately hope that there haven't been any more deaths while fearing that there have been.

That the government did not disclose this little girl's death, despite repeated inquiries, as Castro points out, is alarming.

We need answers. We need them from a government disinclined to provide them.

That deadly lack of transparency is disqualifying. The entire Trump Regime must be removed from office with urgent haste.

My deep condolences to this girl's family. I am so sorry.