By Zolan Kanno-Youngs
WASHINGTON — A 16-year-old Guatemalan boy who was placed in a Texas shelter for migrant children and teenagers after entering the United States has died in federal custody, officials said on Wednesday.
The boy, who died on Tuesday, was considered an unaccompanied minor who had entered the United States. Officials refused to comment on how long he had been in the country, where his parents were or whether he entered illegally. But his death is sure to highlight the risks for the surge of Central American families who have crossed the southwestern border in recent months, overwhelming federal facilities and resources.
The death of the boy was first reported on Wednesday by BuzzFeed.
It was the third death of a migrant child from Guatemala in federal custody in recent months. The first two had been held in Border Patrol facilities intended for adults before they were taken to hospitals, where they died.
The 16-year-old boy had shown signs of illness while in a shelter that was managed by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which handles the care of migrant children, said Evelyn Stauffer, a spokeswoman for the Administration for Children and Families.
He did not show signs of health problems when he was transferred by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to the shelter on April 20, Ms. Stauffer said in a statement.
The next day, April 21, the boy became “noticeably ill including fever, chills and a headache,” the statement said. Officials took him to a hospital, where he was treated. He was released later that day.
He was still sick on the morning of April 22, and was brought by ambulance to a nearby hospital. The boy was then moved to a children’s hospital, where he was treated for several days in an intensive care unit. He was pronounced dead on Tuesday, April 30.
Ms. Stauffer said the boy’s family received regular updates from the hospital staff. The cause of his death is being investigated by agency officials.
An 8-year-old migrant boy from Guatemala died in federal custody on Christmas Day after showing signs of sickness in a Border Patrol facility. Weeks earlier, a 7-year-old Guatemalan girl, who had also fallen ill, also died while in Border Patrol custody.
Homeland Security Department officials have emphasized in recent months that the surge in Central American families seeking asylum has pushed their facilities beyond capacity and exhausted resources. The White House on Wednesday asked Congress to provide $4.5 billion in emergency funding for the southwestern border, including more than $2.8 billion for housing unaccompanied children in health and human services shelters.
During a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Tuesday, Kevin McAleenan, the acting homeland security secretary, referred to the dangerous journey that migrants are making to the southwestern border from Central America.
“The nation’s ability to humanely and compassionately care for vulnerable populations and expeditiously process and detain those who should not be admitted is being stressed to the breaking point,” Mr. McAleenan said.
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