The chief of Border Patrol released video footage recently showing a smuggler crossing the U.S.-Mexican border and abandoning a 1-year-old child on the U.S. side of the southern border. This comes on the heels of comments by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who has refused to state if the American southern border is actually secure.
"Shocking video released by @USBPChief shows smuggler abandoning a 1-year-old Guatemalan child along the Colorado River on the U.S. side of the border in the Yuma sector. More than 57,000 unaccompanied children have been reported at the southern border this FYTD," a tweet documenting the incident read.
This comes as Vice President Kamala Harris has previously stated that the border is "secure." When asked to elaborate, she was noted as saying, “We have a secure border in that that is a priority for any nation, including ours and our administration.”
During a recent committee hearing, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) questioned Mayorkas, noting how he refused to say whether the border was safe. Furthermore, the senator noted how the secretary filibustered his answer because the Biden administration knows they have created a disaster at the southern border, but they’re attempting to ignore the situation.
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz recently released a video showing a 1-year-old Guatemalan child being abandoned along the Colorado River section of the southern border on Monday afternoon by a smuggler who took him across and left him to fend for himself along the water’s edge.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection have released their numbers for Southwest Land Border Encounters for the Fiscal Year To Date. In January 2023, 9,035 unaccompanied children and single minors were found and intercepted by the Border Patrol. In February 2023, a total of 10,451 unaccompanied children and single minors were found and intercepted by the Border Patrol and specifically, in the Yuma Border Sector, where the 1-year-old was recently abandoned, the number was 331.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) defines an unaccompanied child as a child who has no lawful immigration status in the United States; has not attained 18 years of age and, with respect to whom there is no parent or legal guardian in the United States, or no parent or legal guardian in the United States available to provide care and physical custody.