Video Shows Young Children Dropped Over US Border Wall By Smugglers
The two young children, who were part of a Guatemalan family
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A surveillance video has captured a suspected smuggler dropping two small children over the border wall into Yuma, Arizona from Mexico on Monday.
The two young children, who were part of a Guatemalan family, were recorded entering the US illegally near the San Luis Port of Entry, according to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Border Patrol agents treated one child after suffering facial injuries resulting from dropping from the 18-foot wall.
The entire family is now in custody.
The group appeared to be assisted by an unknown person who has since retreated to Mexico and was not apprehended.
Organized crime groups are abusing g vulnerable families in a $2.5 billion industry that assures families they can gain asylum.
The family immediately surrendered to US Border Patrol agents who arrived on scene.
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One subject in the video can be seen assisting members of the family group over the top of the wall
'The subject then dropped two young children from the top of the wall to waiting family members below,' Border Patrol said.
Among the family were three children, including a 2-year-old, a 7-year- old, and a 10-year-old.
McAleenan explained the difficulties the agency faces in the San Diego sector, were migrant caravan members arrive at the Us border, FoxNews reported.
'We've got a challenging and still potentially volatile situation in Tijuana,' McAleenan said.
'We've got over 7,000 migrants there. They were well organized, they were brought to the border by a group that told them they'd be able to cross easily into the US to present asylum claims, and that's not the case.'
'We've been working with the government of Mexico, operationally and tactically on this, but as you saw, we do see individuals trying to cross illegally,' He added.
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When asked about the video, McAleenan said:
'They were apprehended and taken into custody. They'll be turned over to ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] for appropriate processing. But that's what we see every day.
'Since that caravan formed in mid-October, we've seen 90,000 people come to our border. Eighty-five percent of those are crossing illegally between ports of entry, and all lured by the fact that our legal framework has huge gaps that create the opportunity to stay in the US while awaiting a court hearing even if they don't have a lawful permission or protection claim. So it's a huge challenge that we need to work with Congress to address.'
McAleenan stated that US officials maintain seeking asylum in the US is now a business model for crime groups.
'We've got criminal organizations profiting off of vulnerable families, charging $5,000-$7,000 per person,' he said.
'That's a $2.5 billion business of exploitation. We've got to stop it, and we've gotta partner with Mexico to do it.'
Andrés Manuel López Obrador was inaugurated as Mexico's new president on Saturday and has addressed 'push factors in Central America' a major focus of his first few days in office, according to McAleenan.
'Push factors' are reasons that might motivate someone to leave a certain area, as opposed to 'pull factors,' which are reasons that might motivate someone to come to a certain area.
Current push factors in Central America constitute record high homicide rates, sexual and domestic abuse, gang violence, and lack of protection from the government for its people US News & World Report staes.
'We look forward to working with his organization to address this problem comprehensively,' McAleenan said.
McAleenan added: 'These areas where we see breaches in the San Diego sector with some of these caravan migrants coming over are areas where we're trying to replace with a modern border wall system. So its direct representation of why we need that improved infrastructure at the border.'
