An 11-year-old Texas schoolgirl has died after committing suicide because bullies threatened to call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to deport her.
A Gainesville Independent School District spokesperson said that their top priority right now is to ensure a safe and comfortable learning environment for all of its students. This is why they take any reports of bullying at their schools very seriously, adding that they have a zero-tolerance policy.
Deporting Illegal Immigrants
For context, ICE is responsible for enforcing immigration laws in the United States, such as detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants. Recently, the agency has been thrust to the forefront of conversations about immigration enforcement in the country.
The death of the 11-year-old girl comes as President Donald Trump's administration is continuing to intensify its efforts to deport individuals who are living in the U.S. illegally. The White House on Tuesday shared a video that showed migrants being held in shackles as they were escorted to a plane that was bound for an undisclosed location, according to Newsweek.
Read more: Trump Signs Order Ending Birthright Citizenship. How Does It Affect Americans and Immigrants?
The victim was a sixth grader identified as Jocelyn Rojo Carranza, who ended her own life after suffering from months of bullying from her classmates. They reportedly targeted her over her family's immigration status, and some threatened to call ICE to report them.
The girl's classmates allegedly told her that after her family was deported from the U.S., she would be left all by herself. Despite the bullies' threats against their classmates, there was no indication that the Carranza family was living illegally in the country.
A Young Girl's Suffering With Bullying
The victim passed away on Feb. 8, 2025, after spending five days in a Dallas hospital being treated by medical professionals. Before the unfortunate development, the family was said to have informed school officials about the bullying of Jocelyn, but no action was taken to stop them, the Independent reported.
The victim's mother said that she waited an entire week, hoping for a miracle that her daughter would turn out fine after the incident. She added that Jocelyn had been seeing a school counselor several times per week amid the bullying.
The mother said that she wants justice for her daughter, noting that the school was negligent for not keeping her informed about what was actually happening to her child. There is currently an investigation underway, and Gainesville police are responsible for looking into the allegations of bullying Jocelyn by her classmates, as per CNN.
