SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. — A 17-year-old boy from Honduras died this week in U.S. immigration custody, American and Honduran officials said Friday, underscoring concerns about a strained immigration system as the Biden administration manages the end of asylum restrictions known as Title 42.
The teenager was identified as Ángel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza, according to a tweet from Honduran foreign relations minister Enrique Reina. Maradiaga was detained at a facility in Safety Harbor, Reina said.
He entered the U.S. several weeks ago and died Wednesday, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
No cause of death was immediately available nor were circumstances of any illness or medical treatment.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is responsible for the facility where Maradiaga was held, said in a statement that a review of healthcare records was underway as was an investigation by a medical examiner.
HHS “is deeply saddened by this tragic loss and our heart goes out to the family, with whom we are in touch,” the department's statement said.
Angel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza's mother tells the Associated Press all he wanted was "to live the American dream." She added that her son had no known illnesses and had not shown any signs of being sick before his death.
Florida-based Americans for Immigrant Justice is calling for answers, and released the following statement:
"We are heartbroken by the reported death of Angel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza, a child detained by the Office of Refugee Resettlement in a Florida facility. Since this child’s death, the government has not released a single statement. This child’s family and the public should know what happened to this young person while he was in government custody. We call for an immediate, independent, and accountable investigation into the circumstances of this child’s passing. As a society, we have an obligation to protect the safety and well-being of all children, including those who are seeking refuge in this country. Our hearts go out to the child's family, who are undoubtedly experiencing unimaginable grief and loss."
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the news “devastating” and referred questions about the investigation to HHS.
According to DHHS, more than 8,600 children are currently in its custody, many at facilities like Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services in Safety Harbor.
Thomas Felke, a refugee and immigration policy expert and associate professor at Florida Gulf Coast University explained, "When you have an unaccompanied child who arrives in the United States, they often go through a typical process of detainment. But then after detainment, they must be released to HHS and the Office of Refugee Resettlement."
Once with HHS or the Office of Refugee Resettlement, it depends on their contacts in the U.S.
Felke said, "If they have a sponsor or family member or a family friend in the country, then generally they make the effort to try and unify the unaccompanied minor with those individuals. If not, then those individuals are taken to a shelter. "
Such shelters are contracted out by DHHS to various organizations, like Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services.
In Florida, such facilities are not licensed by the state due to a dispute between the federal government and the DeSantis administration.
"What the DeSantis administration did was they basically said that they were not going to license these types of migrant shelter facilities," Felke said. "Therefore, [Florida shelters] have oversight at the federal level from HHS and the Office of Refugee Resettlement."
Ángel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza was the first known death of an immigrant child in custody during the Biden administration. At least six immigrant children died in U.S. custody during the administration of former President Donald Trump.
The asylum restrictions under Title 42 expired Thursday with President Joe Biden's administration announcing new curbs on border crossers that went into effect Friday. Tens of thousands of people tried to cross the U.S.-Mexico border in the weeks before the expiration of Title 42, under which U.S. officials expelled many people but allowed exemptions for others, including minors crossing the border unaccompanied by a parent.
HHS operates long-term facilities to hold children who cross the border without a parent until they can be placed with a sponsor. HHS facilities generally have beds and facilities as well as schooling and other activities for minors, unlike Border Patrol stations and detention sites in which detainees sometimes sleep on the floor in cells.
Advocates who oppose the detention of immigrant children say HHS facilities are not suited to hold minors for weeks or months as sometimes happens.
More than 8,600 children are currently in HHS custody. That number may rise sharply in the coming weeks amid the shift in border policies as well as sharply rising trends of migration across the Western Hemisphere and the traditional spike in crossings during spring and summer.