An eleven year old schoolgirl from Texas has taken her own life after bullies threatened to call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to deport her family.
Jocelynn Rojo Carranza ended her life after enduring months of bullying from her sixth-grade classmates, who targeted her over her family's immigration status—with some even threatening to report them to ICE.
Jocelynn's classmates allegedly told her that once her family was deported, she would be left all alone in the U.S., according to media reports. There is no suggestion that the Carranza family were living in the U.S. illegally.
On February 3, Marbella Carranza, a single mother from Gainesville, received a call informing her that her 11-year-old daughter had attempted to take her own life at their home. She was taken to an intensive care unit in Dallas, where she fought for her life but tragically passed away on February 8, according to a GoFundMe page.
"I waited a whole week for a miracle that my daughter would be well, but unfortunately nothing could be done," Marbella Carranza told Univision. "My daughter will always live for me, and I will always love her."
Gainesville Intermediate School was aware that Jocelynn Rojo Carranza was facing relentless bullying, with classmates taunting her about being abandoned if her parents were deported.
The harassment became so severe that she met with a school counselor several times a week. However, her family was repeatedly not informed about the situation.
