Two girls, ages 3 and 5, dropped over 14-foot barrier at US-Mexico border, video shows
Two young girls were “viciously dropped” over a 14-foot barrier at the U.S-Mexico border Tuesday night, officials said.
They were dropped into New Mexico by “ruthless human smugglers” whom officials are attempting to identify, El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez of the U.S. Border Patrol said.
Chavez posted a video on Twitter showing one of the alleged smugglers at the top of the barrier dropping the children one by one. Two people are then shown running back through a remote area of Mexico.
The girls are 3- and 5-year-old sisters from Ecuador, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. They were described as “alert” when U.S. officials found them and were transported to a local hospital as a precaution.
They were medically cleared and placed in a temporary holding facility in Border Patrol control, officials say.
“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,” Chavez said. “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.”
As of Sunday, 17,650 unaccompanied migrant children were in U.S. government custody at the border, according to CNN.
Addressing what many elected Republicans have referred to as a “border crisis,” President Joe Biden said last week “nothing has changed” at the border.
“The reason they’re coming is that it’s the time they can travel with the least likelihood of dying on the way because of the heat in the desert, number 1,” Biden said. “Number 2, they’re coming because of the circumstances in their country.”
An ABC/Ipsos poll conducted between March 26-27 found that 54% of Americans consider the situation at the border a “crisis,” while 42% of respondents considered it a “serious problem, but not a crisis,” McClatchy News previously reported.
This story was originally published April 1, 2021 at 9:15 AM with the headline "Two girls, ages 3 and 5, dropped over 14-foot barrier at US-Mexico border, video shows."