By Steve Neavling
When Border Patrol trainee Nate Afolayan collapsed and died during an intense training program in southern California, his wife, Lisa, applied for federal benefits meant to support families of public safety officers who die in the line of duty.
Sixteen years later, she and her two daughters have received nothing, the Associated Press reports.
“It just makes me so mad that we are having to fight this so hard,” said Afolayan, who lives near Dallas. “It takes a toll emotionally, and I don’t think they care. To them, it’s just a business. They’re just pushing paper.”
Her case is one of hundreds tied up in a growing backlog within the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) Program, which provides one-time death payouts and education benefits to families of fallen first responders. An Associated Press review found nearly 900 claims have been pending for more than a year — triple the number from five years ago — including more than 120 that have languished for at least five years.
Justice Department officials say a surge in claims and increasingly complex cases have slowed the process. Since 2020, Congress has expanded eligibility to include COVID-19 deaths, some suicides, and 9/11 responders, pushing annual claims from 500 to about 1,200.
While the benefit has grown to $448,575 and more than $2.4 billion has been paid out since the program began in 1976, delays and denials have frustrated families. In the past year, one in three claims were rejected.
Officials declined to comment on Afolayan’s case, which has been denied multiple times. Government lawyers argue Nate’s death was due to a genetic condition, not the heat or exertion of training.
Their daughter, Natalee, was three when he died. She recently completed her first year at the University of Texas without the college benefits the program offers.
“Your death must fit in their box,” Afolayan said, “or your family’s not going to be taken care of.”
