Smugglers seen dropping two girls, 3 and 5, from 14ft border wall in New Mexico desert in disturbing footage
There is no denying the US border crisis is worsening with every passing day. In the latest news, disturbing footage from the US-Mexico border shows two small girls being dumped by smugglers over a 14ft fence, before being left to fend for themselves in the middle of New Mexico desert at night.
Although the young girls were successfully rescued on Tuesday night, it brings to the fore more important questions surrounding the immigration crisis. In a video shared by El Paso sector chief patrol agent Gloria Chavez on Twitter, night vision camera footage show two smugglers on the Mexican side, one scaling the barrier while the other handing the children up to him. The smugglers then drop the children from the top of the border wall to the American side.
RELATED ARTICLES
The older girl quickly stands up, while the younger girl sits for a while before getting up on her feet. The smuggler who is sitting on the fence tosses a small bag to the US side of the border. After dropping the girls, the two smugglers flee the place.
The heartbreaking footage shows the two sisters, reportedly aged just three and five, standing up cluelessly, all alone.
However, border patrol agents were soon on hand to save the pair.
"Smugglers, under cover of night, scaled a 14 ft. border barrier and cruelly dropped 2 young children in the middle of the New Mexico desert," Chavez captioned the video. "The girls, ages 3 & 5, were left miles from the nearest residence. Thank you STN Agents for rescuing these children!"
Smugglers, under cover of night, scaled a 14 ft. border barrier and cruelly dropped 2 young children in the middle of the New Mexico desert. The girls, ages 3 & 5, were left miles from the nearest residence. Thank you STN Agents for rescuing these children! @CBP @CBPWestTexas pic.twitter.com/U91y2g8Lk1
— Gloria I. Chavez (@USBPChiefEPT) March 31, 2021
"I'm appalled by the way these smugglers viciously dropped innocent children from a 14-foot border barrier last night. If not for the vigilance of our Agents using mobile technology, these two tender-aged siblings would have been exposed to the harsh elements of desert environment for hours," she added.
"We are currently working with our law enforcement partners in Mexico and attempting to identify these ruthless human smugglers so as to hold them accountable to the fullest extent of the law."
According to reports, the girls were taken to the hospital for a medical evaluation and released. The young girls are reportedly sisters from Ecuador. Chavez reportedly said following the girls' rescue, "When I saw that first child dropped to the ground and then not see her move for a few seconds, I honestly thought this child just probably hit her head and is unconscious. And then I see the second child and immediately DHS, obviously, within a few minutes responded to that area to rescue them."
Chavez told local television station KVIA, that their mother has been located in the United States and that the goal is to reunite the sisters with her.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas called Border Patrol agents "heroic". "The inhumane way smugglers abuse children while profiting off parents' desperation is criminal and morally reprehensible," he said in a statement. "In March alone, a young girl died by drowning, a 6-month-old was thrown into the river, and two young children were dropped from a wall and left in the desert alone."