An 11-year-old Texas girl took her own life earlier this month after enduring relentless bullying at school, where classmates mocked her family’s immigration status and even threatened to report them to ICE, according to her family.
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Jocelynn Rojo Carranza, a sixth-grade student at Gainesville Intermediate School, died on February 8, five days after she attempted suicide in her Gainesville, Texas, home.
Her mother, Marbella Carranza, says she had no idea her daughter was being tormented until it was too late.
“I waited a whole week for a miracle that my daughter would be well, but unfortunately nothing could be done,” Marbella told Univision. “My daughter will always live for me, and I will always love her.”
According to reports, school officials were aware that Jocelynn was being bullied. The harassment had gotten so bad that she was meeting with a school counselor multiple times a week—yet her family was never informed.
Jocelynn’s bullies allegedly taunted her about deportation, telling her she would be left alone when her parents were sent away. Despite the severe nature of the bullying, her mother only learned about it after her daughter’s death.
Now, Marbella is demanding answers, working with investigators and school officials to understand why she was never told about the emotional toll her daughter was facing.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family with funeral expenses.
