Jakelin Caal Maquin

I am quite certain that Kirstjen Nielsen doesn't know Neri Caal personally. That didn't stop her from blaming the 29-year old dad for the death of his daughter, Jakelin Caal Maquin. Jakelin is the 7-year old who died of dehydration and toxic shock while in the custody of the Border Patrol in southern New Mexico. Nielsen is the Secretary of Homeland Security.

I don't know Neri Caal either. I don't know what made him undertake the dangerous trip from his home in Raxruhá, Guatemala with his little girl. I do know some things, though.

I know that Neri Caal didn't want to leave his home, that he considered it a necessity.

I know that the Q'eqchi' Maya of Raxruhá have been victims of corporate and state violence for decades. I know that a Hydro Santa Rita employee shot 11-year old David Pacay Maaz and 13-year old Isaac Guitz Maaz to death a few years ago because of local protests against the dam project. I know that Hydro Santa Rita was a scheme by Dutch bankers to cash in on EU carbon credits without consulting with anybody in the community.

I know that when Congress tripled the budget for border enforcement, President Bill Clinton instituted the policy of concentrating resources on the areas around San Diego, El Paso, and the lower Rio Grande, funneling border crossers into the most dangerous deserts and mountains like those around Antelope Wells where Neri Caal and his daughter Jakelin crossed.

I know that Border Patrol agents consider it "smart" to destroy water jugs left by good samaritans on the desert trails. (You can see video here.) I know that the ACLU has identified a "culture of cruelty" within Customs and Border Protection.

I know that the horror of our southern border as a war zone did not begin with Donald Trump. I know that the horror of ethnic and class violence, backed by US military power, in Central America did not begin with Donald Trump.

I know that Jakelin Caal Maquin is not the first child to die from the horror. I know she will not be the last.

Nevertheless, I cannot get her dad, Neri, or her mom, Claudia, out of my mind. I cannot stop thinking about her siblings, Abdel, Angela, or Elvis.

I cannot stop mourning the death of Jakelin. I cannot stop mourning the death of Jakelin. I cannot stop mourning the death of Jakelin.