The father of Jakelin Caal, who died in United States Customs and Border Protection custody, has reportedly hired a pair of attorneys and is challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s claims of how his daughter died.
Nery Gilberto Caal released a statement, through attorneys, on Saturday, claiming that he and his daughter — whom Border Patrol says died of prolonged hunger and dehydration — were properly fed, and that they had not spent days in the desert before declaring their intent to seek asylum at an official border crossing in New Mexico last week.
Buzzfeed News and CBS News report that Caal has hired Enrique Morneo and Elena Esparza to handle his case. The attorneys now say that, “Jakelin had not been crossing the desert for days. Jakelin’s father took care of Jakelin — made sure she was fed and had sufficient water,” and that they “sought asylum from the Border Patrol as soon as they crossed the border.”
The pair of lawyers also reportedly issued a threat to the Department of Homeland Security, warning spokespeople for the agency to cease “further speculation about her cause of death” because making “premature and inaccurate statements undermine the integrity of the investigation.”
It does not appear that the attorneys have presented any evidence to substantiate their claim that the official Border Patrol report on Jakelin’s death is inaccurate, or that a further investigation is warranted.- READ MORE