HOUSTON (AP) – A law firm representing the family of a toddler reported to have died after being released from an immigration detention facility has issued new information about what it called a “needless and devastating loss.”
Washington-based Arnold & Porter’s statement Monday identifies the child by her first name, Mariee. A Vice News story also released Monday says Mariee was 18 months old when she arrived at the South Texas Family Residential Center in the town of Dilley.
Citing hospital records, Vice News says the child died six weeks after being released due to viral pneumonitis.
The law firm blames U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for detaining Mariee and her mother in a facility “with unsafe conditions.” But Vice News says five pediatricians who reviewed Mariee’s records say she received treatment that was “consistent” with what they would have done.
ICE said in a statement that it “takes very seriously the health, safety and welfare of those in our care.”
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