Guatemalan mother brings AOC to tears with account of harrowing conditions at border detention facilities by alexnazaryan
WASHINGTON — In powerful testimony before the House Oversight Committee that brought Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to tears, Yazmin Juárez described the conditions on the U.S. border with Mexico that led to the death of her 19-month-old daughter Mariee in May 2018.
The hearing was titled “Kids in Cages: Inhumane Treatment at the Border,” a reflection of what has been described as dire conditions afflicting the 50,000 migrants currently in detention for attempting to enter the United States. President Trump and his supporters blame Democrats for the influx and say that his policies are not markedly different than those of President Obama.
With emotion and precision, Juárez recounted how Mariee was healthy during the journey from Guatemala but that, after they were apprehended by Customs and Border Protection, the two were taken to a facility so cold, it was nicknamed “the icebox.” Juárez said their cell was a cage with about 30 other families. For bedding, they simply slept on the concrete floor.
“My baby got sicker,” Juárez continued. “She was vomiting constantly. Her fever kept going up. She wouldn’t eat or sleep. Her body was weak.” When Juárez and her daughter were released from detention, she was diagnosed with a viral infection. She languished in hospitals for several weeks before finally passing away, just a few months shy of her second birthday.
Republicans on the committee saw things differently. In his opening statement, ranking member Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, angrily denounced his Democratic colleagues for naming the hearing “Kids in Cages,” though he first did offer Juárez his condolences. Roy, who said he had been to the border on many occasions, claimed that “to this day, I have never seen a kid in a cage the way those words seem to indicate it.
After she finished her testimony, Juárez stood up and walked to the podium where legislators sit. There she was met by Ocasio-Cortez. The two women hugged and spoke briefly, surrounded by photographers and reporters.
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