U.S. border officials seized the moment two children were thrown over a wall on the border with Mexico on Tuesday night (30).
The case arose in the Santa Teresa area in the state of New Mexico. The footage, captured by security cameras, shows two little girls thrown from a height of about 4 meters. After falling to the ground, two drug traffickers fled the area and left them alone.
The girls are sisters and Ecuadorians – one is three years old, the other five. They were rescued and taken to medical treatment and are doing well. Then they were transferred to accommodation for immigrants.
“I am shocked to see how these smugglers threw innocent children over a 4 meter high barrier. Without the surveillance of the agents, these sisters would have been exposed for hours to the harsh conditions of the desert, ”said Gloria Chavez, the patrol leader, crossing the border in the El Paso sector.
The United States faces the largest increase in migrants in the past 20 years. Worsening economic conditions caused by the pandemic and natural disasters have prompted more people in Latin America to try to immigrate. The number of captures at the border has increased since April 2020.
In March of this year, 170,000 illegal immigrants were registered at the US border with Mexico, according to preliminary data obtained by the New York Times, a 70% increase from February. This is the highest monthly value since 2006. Of this number, 18,700 were unaccompanied children and adolescents.
US authorities estimate that as many as 184,000 unaccompanied migrant children will reach the border with Mexico this year. The situation is a challenge for US President Joe Biden, who is struggling to accommodate a growing number of minors, mainly from Central America.
If the numbers are confirmed, it will be the largest flow on record since 2010, when the historic series begins. So far, the year with the most apprehensions of unaccompanied minors was 2019, still under the administration of Donald Trump, when 76,000 children and adolescents arrived at the border alone.
There is capacity in shelters to which children must be sent within 72 hours of seizure. As of Monday 29, there were 12,000 detainees. To keep up with demand, the Biden government launched an effort in late March to create an additional 16,000 vacancies, according to US broadcaster CBS.
On another note, the US Department of Homeland Security has determined that an agency normally tasked with responding to floods and hurricanes will help deal with a growing number of migrant children arriving at the border with Mexico.
The plight of these immigrants is the biggest crisis the Biden government has faced to date. There is a policy in effect imposed by Trump during the pandemic that allows stockbrokers to send immigrants (single adults and families) without them having the opportunity to seek asylum in the United States.
However, this rule does not apply to unaccompanied minors, who must first be treated at the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities and, after a maximum of 72 hours, proceed to a shelter. . We are a family business.
