TEGUCIGALPA — The mother of a 17-year-old Honduran boy who died this week in the custody of US immigration authorities demanded answers Friday from US officials, saying her son had no illnesses she knew of or had shown indications of being ill before death.
The teenager was identified as Ángel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza, Honduran Foreign Secretary Enrique Reina tweeted. Maradiaga was being held at a facility in Safety Harbor, Florida, Reina said, and died Wednesday. His death heightened concerns about the overwhelmed US immigration system as President Joe Biden’s administration works to end the restrictions on asylum known as Title 42.
His mother, Norma Saraí Espinoza Madariaga, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that her son “wanted to fulfill the American dream.”
Ángel Eduardo left his hometown of Olanchito, Honduras, on April 25, his mother said. A few days later he crossed the US-Mexico border, and on May 5 he was transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which operates facilities for children who cross the border unaccompanied by someone. from their parents and where they can remain long-term.
That same day he spoke to his mother for the last time, she said Friday.
“He told me he was in the shelter, not to worry because I was in the best hands,” he added. “We only spoke for two minutes, I said goodbye to him and wished him the best.”
This week, someone who only claimed to be one of his son’s friends at the shelter called him to say that when he woke up to go eat breakfast, Ángel Eduardo was unresponsive and dead.
Then his mother called a person in the United States who was supposedly going to receive Ángel Eduardo, asking for their help in verifying that information. Hours later, that person called him back and told him that it was true that his son was dead.
“I want the true reason for my son’s death to be clarified,” she demanded. The young man did not suffer from any ailment or had been ill, as far as she knew.
“No one tells me anything. The anguish is killing me,” she added. “They say that they are waiting for the results of the autopsy and they do not give me another answer.”
No information was given at this time about the causes of death, or that he suffered from any illness or was under medical treatment.
In a statement issued Friday, HHS said it “is deeply saddened by this tragic loss and our hearts go out to the family with whom we are in contact.” A health care records review is underway, and a coroner is conducting an inquest, the agency added.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the news “devastating” and requested that all questions about the investigation be directed to HHS.
Title 42 asylum restrictions expired Thursday at midnight, and the Biden administration announced new measures that went into effect Friday for border crossers.
Tens of thousands of people tried to cross the border from Mexico to the United States weeks before the cancellation of Title 42, through which the US authorities expelled many people with the argument of preventing the spread of COVID-19, but granted waivers to others , including minors who crossed the border without being accompanied by one of their parents.
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first death of a migrant minor in the custody of federal authorities during the Biden administration. At least six migrant children have died in federal custody during the administration of former President Donald Trump, who at times detained thousands of children beyond the capacity of the system.
HHS operates long-term housing facilities to hold unaccompanied minors who have crossed the border until they can be placed with a sponsor. In general, HHS facilities have beds and other equipment, and have education and various other activities for minors, unlike Border Patrol stations and detention centers, where detained migrants sometimes have to sleep on the cell floor.
Advocates opposed to detaining migrant children say HHS facilities are inadequate to detain minors for weeks or months, which is sometimes the case.
Currently there are more than 8,600 children in HHS custody. That number could rise sharply in the coming weeks after the change in border policies, and because of migration trends in the Western Hemisphere and the traditional increase in border crossings during the spring and summer.
Ángel Eduardo studied until eighth grade before leaving school to work. He had recently been working as a mechanic’s assistant. Since he was 7 years old, he had excelled as a soccer player in Olanchito, in northern Honduras, his mother said.
The teenager was hoping to reunite with his father, who left for the United States years ago, and earn money to support his two younger brothers who were still in the Central American country, the woman added.
She had immigrated with her mother’s approval and her father’s financial backing to the United States, she said.
“Since he was 10 years old, he wanted to fulfill the American dream to see his dad and have a better life,” the mother said. “His idea was to help me; he told me that when he was in the United States he was going to change my life ”.
