AP FACT CHECK: Trump twists facts of a migrant girl's death
Source: Associated Press
AP FACT CHECK: Trump twists facts of a migrant girls death
By CALVIN WOODWARD
March 30, 2019
WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump is misrepresenting the circumstances of a 7-year-old migrant girls death as he seeks to steer any potential blame for it away from his administration.
Trump, after mockingly painting asylum seekers as a con job in a rally the previous night, asserted on Friday that Jakelin Caal Maquin was given no water by her father during their trek to a remote border area and that the dad acknowledged blame for his daughters death on Dec. 8. Those assertions are not supported by the record.
TRUMP: I think that its been very well stated that weve done a fantastic job. ... The father gave the child no water for a long period of time - he actually admitted blame. to reporters Friday.
THE FACTS: An autopsy report released Friday found that Guatemalan girl died of a bacterial infection just more than a day after being apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol. The El Paso County Medical Examiners office said traces of streptococcus bacteria were found in Jakelins lungs, adrenal gland, liver, and spleen, and she experienced a rapidly progressive infection that led to the failure of multiple organs.
Neither the autopsy report, nor accounts at the time by Customs and Border Protection , spoke of dehydration. And through family lawyers, Nery Gilberto Caal Cuz said after his girls death that he made sure she had food and water as they traveled through Mexico.
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