Funeral held for Guatemalan girl who died in US custody

A funeral was held Tuesday for the 7-year-old Guatemalan girl who died in U.S. custody earlier this month.

Friends and family attended the funeral in Guatemala for Jakelin Caal, who died at an El Paso, Texas, hospital. Her mother and grandfather were too distraught to attend the burial service, according to Reuters.

“They couldn’t bear the sadness,” Caal’s uncle said.

{mosads}Caal and her father were taken into custody on Dec. 6 in New Mexico, after which she began having seizures and had a temperature of 105.7 degrees. She had not consumed food or water for several days.

After she was flown to a hospital in El Paso she went into cardiac arrest. Despite being revived, she died less than 24 hours after arriving at the hospital. Her father remains in the U.S.

The funeral occurred the same day that a second migrant child died in U.S. government custody.

An 8-year-old Guatemalan boy in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody died shortly after midnight Tuesday.

According to CBP, the boy was initially diagnosed with a cold. After doctors diagnosed him with a fever, he was kept for observation for 90 minutes and then released with prescriptions for antibiotics and pain relievers.

The child, whose name was not released, returned to the Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center the same day with symptoms of nausea and vomiting. He later died at the hospital.

CBP confirmed it will conduct an investigation.

The deaths have taken place amid deep disagreements in Washington regarding the Trump administration’s immigration policies. President Trump has criticized migrants seeking to enter the United States and he is demanding Congress approve $5 billion for a border wall.

Disagreements surrounding the funds between Democrats and Republicans resulted in a partial government shutdown that began Saturday. The Senate passed a government funding bill last week that did not include money for a border wall, and Trump said he would not sign the measure. The House later passed legislation that would provide $5.7 billion for a border wall.

Democrats have said funding for a border wall is a “non-starter.”