2023-05-13 03:06:38
A Honduran teenager who entered the United States unaccompanied died this week in the custody of US authorities, officials in both countries said this Friday (12).
Honduran Foreign Minister Enrique Reina identified the youth as 17-year-old Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza and said he died at a refugee shelter in Safety Harbor, northwest Florida.
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), whose Office of Refugee Resettlement oversees the care and housing of unaccompanied immigrant minors, confirmed the death but did not provide further details.
The department “is deeply saddened by this tragic loss and our hearts go out to the family, with whom we are in contact,” it said in a statement.
HHS said it was investigating the death.
Broadcaster CNN reported that the teenager had died on Wednesday in a hospital, shortly after losing consciousness at the shelter, according to a letter sent by HHS to Congress.
The young man had been housed in that shelter since May 5, after being transferred by the authorities.
The death occurred in the week in which thousands of migrants tried to enter the United States before a major change in immigration regulations took effect, which includes tough new measures for people who cross the border illegally.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the death “devastating news”.
“Our hearts go out to the family members,” he said, adding that there was an ongoing medical investigation into the incident.
The Honduran minister noted that the teenager was one of more than 10,000 Hondurans who have tried to enter the United States each month over the past year.
“This terrible event highlights the importance of working together on the bilateral migration agenda on the situation of unaccompanied minors, in order to find solutions”, wrote Reina on Twitter.
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