San Diego authorities encountered an abandoned 5-year-old girl who was “wandering alone” Monday near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Border Patrol watched as the Guatemalan child was dropped off near San Ysidro, California, at about 10:45 a.m. before she walked along the Tijuana River and into the United States, the agency said Tuesday. She was transported to a facility and found to be in good health after being screened by medical personnel.
The 5-year-old told law enforcement that her parents were residing in the U.S., though she had no way to contact them. She also told officials her 7-year-old cousin remained in Mexico with an “unknown male.”
CALIFORNIA BORDER PATROL SAVES TWO MIGRANTS IN ‘EXTREME DISTRESS’
The incident was captured on video.
“Sadly, this is the latest example of how the most vulnerable populations are being exploited for financial gain,” chief patrol agent Aaron Heitke said in a statement. “Thankfully, our agents encountered this child before any harm could befall her.”
Authorities in Mexico and Guatemala were notified of the girl’s circumstances, and the Department of Health and Human Services is assisting.
Agents in San Diego recovered two migrants who were in “extreme distress” over the weekend, they announced Monday.
Law enforcement with the Foreign Operations Branch on Friday found a 41-year-old Guatemalan man “who was coughing up blood and struggling to breathe” after Mexican officials alerted the branch of a missing person on Otay Mountain. Agents administered an inhaler, and the migrant was transported to a local hospital. His condition was not specified by authorities.
Two days later, officials located a 27-year-old Honduran man who was “in an altered state of mind and going in and out of consciousness.” Law enforcement carried the person to an ambulance, and he was taken to a hospital. His condition was also not disclosed.
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Between Friday and Sunday, Border Patrol agents in Yuma, Arizona, were also tasked with performing lifesaving aid after 25 people were recovered. Several of those in distress were dehydrated, while some were lost throughout the desert landscape.
Since he took office, President Joe Biden‘s administration has faced bipartisan backlash for his handling of the crisis on the southern border. In April, agents witnessed more than 178,000 attempted illegal crossings, dwarfing previous numbers. A wave of unaccompanied migrant children has overwhelmed those in Biden’s cohort as the federal government scrambles to open new facilities to house the surge.
