White House Spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed at the daily press conference that the homeless Honduran immigrant youth died.
Noting that they were deeply saddened by the news of the young man’s death, Jean-Pierre said, “This is very devastating news.” He conveyed his condolences to the family of the young man. Jean-Pierre stated that a forensic investigation was launched on the issue on 10 May and said that he did not want to comment on the issue before the end of the investigation.
In the statement made by the US Health and Human Services Administration (HHS), it was reported that the family of the young man who died was in contact with his family.
It was reported that the child health department of the Refugee Resettlement Office (ORR) within the HHS examined the clinical details of the case. Due to confidentiality and security, detailed information on the subject was not shared.
Honduran Foreign Minister Enrique Reina also shared on Twitter that the young man who died at the age of 17 was Angel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza.
Stating that they were in contact with the family of the young man through their embassy in Washington, Reina stated that they requested a comprehensive investigation from HHS. Reina emphasized that cooperation on immigrants is important.
HHS, which takes care of unaccompanied migrant children, places them in migrant centers across the country.
There are about 8,600 homeless immigrant children in the United States.