Afghan evacuee child dies in US custody

A 6-year-old Afghan boy brought to the US after the Islamic Emirate took control of Afghanistan in 2021 died last week while in federal government custody, CBS News reported.

The Afghan child had a terminal illness and he died on June 13, CBS News reported citing a US official.

The boy was one of the hundreds of Afghan children who arrived to the US in 2021 without their parents after being evacuated from Afghanistan alongside tens of thousands of adults.

Because they arrived in the US without parents or legal guardians, those children were placed in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement, which houses unaccompanied minors, including those processed along the US-Mexico border. 

In a statement Thursday, HHS confirmed the child’s death, saying it stemmed from “severe encephalopathy,” a medical term for a brain disease or disorder.

The department said the boy was transferred to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center immediately after being relocated to the US in August 2021. He was subsequently transferred to the HSC Pediatric Center in Washington, D.C., where he received 24/7 nursing care for those with a terminal illness.

On June 2, HHS said, the boy was transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit at the Children’s National Hospital due to an “acute medical complication.”

“Medical treatment was provided according to the parents’ wishes and aligned with the recommendations of the hospital’s health care provider team,” HHS added in its statement. “Our heart goes out to the family at this difficult time.”

The Afghan boy’s death marks the third death of an unaccompanied child in HHS custody this year. The other two were from Honduras.