Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) came to the rescue of a 1-year-old girl after she was kidnapped in Mexico by human smugglers.
Border Patrol agents were processing a migrant family from Mexico at the El Paso Sector Central Processing Center, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported in a release. There, the child's mother revealed that her daughter was taken by human smugglers in Mexico. Border Patrol agents found out that the child was on the schedule to travel on a bus to Dallas that week, then found her before she left El Paso.
"This is one more example of the callous and ruthless tactics used by transnational criminal organizations that often use the most vulnerable migrants — children — as a commodity by forcibly taking them away from their families to continue the exploitation for financial gain," El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez said in the release.
The 23-year-old alleged smuggler, Rubye Ramos, was arrested and charged with "transporting an undocumented noncitizen," ICE reported.
"This weekend a tragedy was prevented due to the invaluable partnership between Border Patrol agents and special agents from HSI," Chavez said. "I am extremely proud of the intelligence gathering and investigative work by all agents involved in this case that brought an innocent child to safety."
HSI is the main investigation unit of the Department of Homeland Security, ICE reported. The department is responsible for looking into crime and threats that occur across national boundaries, most notably "criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move."
"HSI remains steadfast in our commitment to work closely with our partners to vigorously pursue human smuggling networks that exploit and endanger people who entrust them with their lives," Frank B. Burrola, special agent in charge of HIS El Paso, said in the release.
