Border Patrol has unsurprisingly changed its story regarding the shooting death of Claudia Patricia Gómez González, an undocumented migrant from Guatemala, in the Rio Bravo area of Texas last week, completely dropping its claim that Gómez González and others had attacked an agent with “blunt objects”:
Additionally, the Border Patrol at first reported that a round from the officer's gun "fatally wounded one of the assailants" but the latest statement refers to the gunshot victim as a "member of the group."
Gómez González was shot in the head and died at the scene. She was just 20. While Border Patrol’s initial statement claimed that she and others had attacked the agent with “blunt objects,” this was disputed by a resident who witnessed the aftermath and said that "the girl was in the grass and trees; to me she was hiding,” and that the others “didn't have rocks in their hands”:
After initially reporting the agent was attacked by migrants armed with "blunt objects," the federal agency on Friday said only that the group "rushed" the officer after ignoring orders to get on the ground.
Border Patrol also canceled a press conference that was going to be held on Friday, CNN reported, instead releasing the “slightly different account” of the incident in its place. Some of us would instead say “Border Patrol lied,” because federal immigration officials lie, and often. Now a young girl is dead, and this out-of-control agency is, yet again, shamelessly trying to fudge the truth about her killing.
What is known for certain is that Gómez González, frustrated over “the lack of job opportunities” in Guatemala, said goodbye to her loved ones and set out in search of hope in America. "She looked, looked and nothing," her dad Gilberto said. "I believe that's the reason why she decided to pursue the American dream.” From her home village in Guatemala, local media captured heartbreaking images of her distraught family:
“I want justice. Why did they do this to her? They should have just sent her back home,” said the woman’s mother, Lidia González, in between sobs on Friday. Her two other daughters cried alongside her as she spoke to Telemundo in San Juan Ostuncalco, Guatemala.
“Why did they do this? They killed her,” she said in Spanish, wailing. “You are with God. I know you are with God.”
Gómez González’s death comes as a Guardian analysis revealed that “the US government has paid out more than $60m in legal settlements where border agents were involved in deaths, driving injuries, alleged assaults and wrongful detention.” According NBC News, the yet-to-be-named agent who killed Gómez González has been placed on leave:
The incident is under investigation by the FBI and the Texas Rangers, along with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility, the statement said. The agent is on administrative leave, per agency policy.
The woman’s father, Gilberto Gómez, told Telemundo in Spanish, “It’s hard. It’s hard. What I ask is that they please send the body of my daughter the fastest they can.”
He added that the family wants justice on the agent that killed his daughter.
She deserves answers, as do the countless other victims who have been abused, traumatized, and lost their lives at the hands of Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. What we need is accountability, leaders to rein in these agencies, and justice for immigrant victims of state violence. Claudia Patricia Gómez González was her name. Remember her.
