2023-05-13 21:17:43
By Marlón González and Nomaan Merchant – The Associated Press
The mother of the 17-year-old Honduran boy who died on Wednesday in a shelter for unaccompanied migrant minors in Florida demanded explanations from the federal authorities on Friday, and assured that her son, Ángel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza, did not suffer from any illness or had shown any symptom before death.
The Honduran Minister of Foreign Relations, Enrique Reina, reported this Friday that the teenager was in a federal center in Safety Harbor, next to the cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg.
His mother, Norma Saraí Espinoza Maradiaga, explained in a telephone interview that her son “wanted to live the American dream.”
Ángel Eduardo Maradiaga left his hometown of Olanchito, in Honduras, on April 25, according to his mother. He crossed the border between the United States and Mexico a few days later, and on May 5 he was referred by the immigration authorities to the Department of Health (HHS), which manages the centers where minors who arrive alone in the country are admitted until find a guardian or family member to take care of them in the United States.
[Albergue para niños no acompañados en la capital desata la oposición de autoridades locales y vecinos]
His mother assures that that same day she spoke to him for the last time: “He told me that he was in a reception center and not to worry because I was in the best hands,” she explained, “we only spoke for two minutes, I said goodbye to him and I wished him the best.”
This week someone who only identified himself as one of her son’s friends at the center called her to say that when she woke up for breakfast, Maradiaga was unresponsive and dead.
His mother called a person in the United States who had supposedly received Ángel Eduardo, asking for their help in verifying the information. Hours later, that person called him back telling him that his son had died.
“I want to clarify the true cause of my son’s death,” said Espinoza Maradiaga, who assures that the young man did not suffer from any illness and had not been ill. “No one tells me anything. The anguish is killing me. They say that they are waiting for the results of the autopsy and they are not giving me any more answers, ”she expressed.
[Biden abrirá centros de procesamiento de migrantes en Centroamérica y Sudamérica para aliviar la presión en la frontera sur]
So far, authorities have not released the cause of the young man’s death or the circumstances of his illness or the medical treatment he may have received.
The Department of Health said Friday that: “We are deeply saddened by this tragic loss and our hearts go out to the family with whom we are in contact.” He said that he was reviewing medical care records and that an autopsy would be done.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the news “devastating” and referred questions about the investigation to the Department of Health.
Asylum restrictions under Title 42 expired Thursday, but the government announced new restrictions for people crossing the border that went into effect Friday.
[Con la ayuda de tres abogados, aclaramos las creencias falsas más frecuentes en casos de inmigración]
Tens of thousands of people tried to cross the border in the weeks leading up to the end of Title 42, a measure implemented by former President Donald Trump in March 2020 to expel most asylum seekers due to the coronavirus pandemic, but which granted exemptions to others, including minors crossing the border unaccompanied by their parents or guardians.
This is the first known death of a migrant child in custody during the Joe Biden government. At least six immigrant children died in federal custody in the Trump Administration, during which the United States detained thousands of children after crossing the border, collapsing the capacity of the immigration system.
Juvenile facilities often have beds, as well as schools and other activities for minors, unlike Border Patrol stations and detention centers where detainees sometimes sleep on the floor in cells.
Advocates opposed to detaining immigrant children say federal facilities are not adequate to hold minors for weeks or months, as is sometimes the case.
[Los cruces en la frontera caen tras el final del Título 42: estos son los sueños y los miedos en un albergue de migrantes en El Paso]
Currently, more than 8,600 children are in the custody of the Department of Health. That number may rise significantly in the coming weeks due to changing border policies, as well as upward migration trends throughout the Western Hemisphere and the traditional increase in crossings during the spring and summer.
Ángel Eduardo Maradiaga had studied up to eighth grade at school. Before emigrating he worked as a mechanic’s helper. His mother says he had been a prominent soccer player in Olanchito, in northern Honduras, since he was 7 years old.
The teenager was hoping to reunite with his father, who left Honduras for the United States years ago, and wanted to earn money to support his mother and two younger brothers, who are still in Honduras, the woman explained.
The young man had emigrated with his mother’s approval and his father’s financial support, Espinoza Maradiaga said. “Since I was 10 years old, I wanted to live the American dream to see his father and have a better life. His idea was to help me. He told me that when I was in the United States, my life would change,” she concluded.
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#wanted #live #American #dream