A grieving Texas mothers says her 11-year-old daughter took her own life after classmates threatened to call Immigration and Customs and Enforcement (ICE) to have her deported.
Jocelynn Rojo Carranza was found unresponsive in her home in Gainesville, Texas, on February 3 and spent five days in intensive care in Dallas before passing away.
It’s unclear how the girl hurt herself, but her family believes relentless bullying drove her to suicide, according to a GoFundMe page.
‘The kids said because your family is Hispanic, that they were going to call ICE so her parents could be taken away and she would be left alone,’ grieving mother Marbella Carranza told the local Univision station.
The bullying went on for months, according to the single mom of six, with the sixth grader seeing a school counselor to report the bullying.
However, the mother claims she was never made aware of the torment her daughter had been enduring until after her death.
‘The school was aware of what was going, but they never informed me,’ Carranza, who earns a living by cleaning homes, told the outlet.
‘She apparently went once or twice a week to the counselor to report what was happening,’ the mom stated.
Jocelynn Rojo Carranza attended Gainesville Intermediate School, where she was enrolled in sixth grade
The girl’s mother claims she had been bullied for months, with kids telling the sixth grader they would call ICE on her parents
‘I want justice because it was an oversight by the school not to have told me what was going on.’
Gainesville Intermediate School, where Jocelynn was a student, released a statement to DailyMail.com after we took the mother’s bullying claims to the school district.
‘We take any reports of bullying at our schools very seriously and have a zero-tolerance policy,’ Gainesville Independent School District emailed.
‘Whenever we receive a report of bullying, we respond swiftly to ensure all students are safe physically and emotionally.
While we cannot release any information about specific students or incidents, our schools have several policies in place to combat bullying and resolve conflicts.
The district went on to say that after bullying allegations are made, the district ‘immediately takes all steps necessary to respond appropriately.’
The campus informed parents of Jocelynn’s passing via a letter that was released to Univision. The letter made no mention of the suicide or bullying allegations.
However, the communication made no mention of how she died or the bullying allegations.
Marbella Carranza told the Dallas Univision station that her daughter had been bullied over deportation threats for months, however, she only learned of it when her daughter took her own life
The sixth grader died at a Dallas hospital after spending nearly a week in ICU
The school were Jocelynn was a student sent home a letter informing the community of her passing, but made no mention of the bullying allegations
‘This loss is sure to raise many emotions, concerns and questions for the entire school,’ the message obtained by the local station states.
Local police confirmed they are actively investigating the girl’s death.
‘I am unable to comment on the investigation at this time,’ Police Chief Kevin Phillips told DailyMail.com.
‘As for the bullying allegations, that is being investigated by the Gainesville Independent School District Police Department.’
Jocelynn’s funeral was held in the town on Sunday, her father said in a online post.
‘Please remember her kindly because she was a very happy girl,’ her mom said through tears.
‘Every day, she would tell me that she loved me.’
