A two-year-old toddler was found by U.S. Border Patrol agents wandering near the Rio Grande River in Hidalgo, Texas. This is the third time in ten days a toddler or minor has been abandoned by smugglers in this sector.
Border Patrol agents went out to rescue the little boy after discovering him wandering alone, information provided by the Border Patrol to Breitbart Texas revealed. When the agents arrived the boy was with a group of 13 other illegal aliens who had recently crossed the border. The agents took the toddler into custody along with the other 13 individuals.
Border Patrol agents observed the little boy wandering along the river area by himself, Border Patrol Supervisor Marlene Castro told Breitbart Texas in an interview on Wednesday morning. A group of immigrants later came upon the abandoned child and took him under their wing to ensure his safety, she said.
The abandonment of these minors by smugglers appears to be a new and very disturbing trend. “I haven’t seen this before,” Castro said. “This is the third time in ten days. I hope this trend stops soon.”
The area is very dangerous for anyone, but especially for a small child. Alligators and coyotes are often seen in the area and poisonous snakes are common.
Agents learned that the little boy had been smuggled into the U.S. by himself and was left along the river road by the smuggler. The group later came upon the abandoned child and took him into their protection.
A search of the toddler revealed a Honduran immunization record and a paper with the child’s parents’ names and phone numbers. The mother was eventually contacted and the child was processed by officials. “He is no longer in our custody,” Castro confirmed.
Just last week, a two-year-old little girl was also abandoned by smugglers near the border town of Mission, Texas, just a few miles away, Breitbart Texas’ Ildefonso Ortiz reported. In that case, the smugglers handed off the child that was being smuggled without any parents or family members to other immigrants they had just smuggled over the border. The little girl had a name and phone number written on her white t-shirt with a black marker.
The child was later discovered to have a Salvadoran birth certificate. She was later placed into foster care.
The following day, Ortiz reported about a 13-year-old girl who had to be flown by a helicopter after being found near death in a ranch near the Falfurrias Checkpoint. The girl and her 15-year-old sister had been abandoned in the brush. They had been wandering for 5 days without water.
Supervisor Castro told Breitbart Texas on Wednesday that the last she had heard, the ventilator had been removed from the girl and the hospital was testing for brain damage. She said she did not know any more about the girl’s condition at this time.
This news comes as Border Patrol agents are reporting a new flood of foreign minors pouring into the U.S. Breitbart Texas Managing Director Brandon Darby reported on Tuesday that the numbers of Unaccompanied Alien Children was similar to the crisis that hit the region in 2014.
“We are flooded with about 600 unaccompanied minors and family units in one station in the RGV Sector alone,” said Border Patrol Agent Chris Cabrera, who spoke to Darby in his role as a spokesman for the National Border Patrol Council. The RGV Sector (Rio Grande Valley) has nine Border Patrol stations in total.
“We haven’t seen anything like this since the summer of 2014. The flow is increasing at an alarming rate. If we don’t do something to stem the massive influx, we will likely see numbers that eclipse those of 2014,” said Agent Cabrera. “The cartel groups are tying us up on one end with the family groups and running their narcotics because we are caught up doing babysitting duties.”
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas and is a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.
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