'Somebody could kidnap me, I'm scared': Moment sobbing migrant boy approaches Texas border patrol after being abandoned and spending night in desert
- A Border Patrol agent recorded the moment he encountered a crying migrant boy who had been abandoned in southern Texas
- The child apparently had unlawfully entered the United States from Mexico and had been abandoned by a group he had been traveling with
- The boy twice asked the agent 'can you help me?' and told him that he was with 'a group and they abandoned me and I do not know where they are at'
- The incident reportedly took place last Thursday east of Rio Grande City, according to a friend of the officer, Anjel Hernandez
- The boy, whose name, age and nationality have not been released, spent the night in the desert before he came into contact with the agent
- More than 170,000 migrants were caught by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the United States-Mexico border in March
- Joe Biden tabbed Vice President Kamala Harris on March 24 to lead the administration's efforts in finding a solution for its immigration crisis The heartbreaking moment a crying migrant child approached a U.S. Border Patrol officer near the Mexico-United States border in Texas and asked for help has been captured on video.
The boy can be seen walking towards the Border Patrol agent and asking for assistance because he had ben dumped near the Rio Grande.
'It's that I was coming with a group and they abandoned me and I do not know where they are at,' the child told the officer in Spanish.
The boy is one of hundreds of unaccompanied children crossing the border each day.
New government statistics released last week revealed that 171,000 migrants were caught by US authorities at the border in March - the highest monthly total in two decades and the latest sign of the mounting humanitarian challenge confronting President Joe Biden.
The total includes about 19,000 unaccompanied migrant children and 53,000 family members traveling together, the preliminary figures showed.
The March arrest totals at the US-Mexico border represent the highest monthly level since April 2000 when border patrol agents caught more than 180,000 migrants.
President Joe Biden last month named Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the administration's efforts in finding a long-lasting solution for its immigration crisis.
A migrant boy, who was abandoned in southern Texas after crossing over from Mexico, was recorded on video in tears and asking a U.S. Border Patrol agent for help last Thursday. The child had spent the night in the desert after he was abandoned by the group of migrants he had crossed the border with and feared he would be 'abducted.' U.S. Customs and Border Protection has not released the child's age or nationality
A U.S. Border Patrol agent traveling on a dirt road east of Rio Grande City found an abandoned migrant boy crying and asking for assistance last Thursday after he had been abandoned by a group of migrants that had illegally crossed the Mexico-United States
In the video of the boy begging for help, the agent asks: 'You do not know where they are at? They left you alone?'
The distraught child, struggling to maintain his composure, had apparently been sent to the United States by his parents, who were not part of the migrant group he had been traveling with.
'At the end they abandoned me. I have come here to ask you for help,' the frightened boy said. The agent asked the boy if he had been instructed 'to come ask for help,' but the the child replied, 'no, I am coming because if I did not, where am I going to go? Somebody could abduct me, kidnap me. I am scared.'
The incident reportedly took place east of Rio Grande City on April 1 after the border agent had finished his shift, his friend Anjel Hernandez wrote on Facebook.
Univision reported that the child, whose age and nationality have not been made public by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, spent the entire night trekking through the Rio Grande Valley region after his unlawful entry into the country.
U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector chief Gloria Chavez told the network that parents should think about their children's well-being each time they are sent alone to cross the perilous Mexico-United States border.
Disturbing footage released by US Customs Border and Protection showed the moment the girls were dropped, one after another, over the barrier in the middle of the night
The girls, pictured above immediately after being dropped, were rescued by agents soon after and taken to the Santa Teresa Border Patrol Station for medical evaluation
The sisters from Ecuador, who are aged three and five, were pictured interacting with El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez after being rescued
Military builds six enormous tents at Fort Bliss Army post in Texas that can each hold 1,000 migrants
The US Military has built six tents at the Fort Bliss Army base in Texas that can each hold up to 1,000 migrants - but soldiers have reportedly been banned from photographing the camp amid the border crisis.
The tents, officially referred to as Emergency Intake Shelters, were set up at Fort Bliss in El Paso last month to house unaccompanied migrants amid an influx arriving at the US-Mexico border.
Officials have refused to say how many migrants are currently being held at the army base but White House press secretary Jen Psaki said last month that the Fort Bliss facility could house about 5,000 beds.
No official photos have been released of the Fort Bliss Emergency Intake Shelters so far.
The tents, officially referred to as Emergency Intake Shelters, were set up at Fort Bliss in El Paso last month to cater for unaccompanied migrant children amid an influx of those arriving at the US-Mexico border. Photo courtesy of CBS4
Officials have refused to say how many migrants are currently being held at the army base but White House press secretary Jen Psaki said last month that the Fort Bliss facility could house about 5,000 beds. Photo courtesy of CBS4
Sources told Fox News that military personnel at the army base have been ordered not to take photos of the tents.
The only images of the tents that have been made public have come from two lawmakers who visited Fort Bliss to inspect the intake shelters over the last two weeks.
The six tents can be seen in the background of photos posted on Twitter by Democrat Rep. Veronica Escobar and Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales.
Those same sources said there were plans to have more tents erected in the future to cater for more migrants.
The tents put up so far came after the Department of Health and Human Services received approval from the Pentagon last month to house unaccompanied migrant children at the army base.
The Biden administration has been battling to house and process an increasing number of unaccompanied children at the border in recent weeks, who have been backed up in crowded border stations and processing centers for days.
The tents, officially referred to as Emergency Intake Shelters, (pictured above) were set up at Fort Bliss in El Paso last month to cater for unaccompanied migrant children amid an influx of those arriving at the US-Mexico border
The only images of the tents that have been made public have come from two lawmakers, Democrat Rep. Veronica Escobar, who visited Fort Bliss to inspect the intake shelters over the last two weeks
No official photos have been released of the Fort Bliss Emergency Intake Shelters so far
The shelter system that houses the children has been overwhelmed and the Department of Health and Human Services has scrambled to open the emergency shelters.
After weeks of shutting the media out and releasing their own photos, the Biden administration let a handful of photographers into its main border detention facility for migrant children in Donna, Texas, last week.
More than 4,000 migrants, including children and families, were seen crammed into pods, with the facility running at 1,700 percent capacity.
At that point, 2,000 children had already overstayed their 72-hour legal limit.
Most of those inside the tents were unaccompanied children who were being processed before being taken to shelters run by the Department of Health and Human Services and then subsequently placed with a family member, relative or sponsor.
After weeks of shutting the media out and releasing their own photos, the Biden administration let a handful of photographers into its main border detention facility for migrant children in Donna, Texas, last week (above)'To all parents who are considering sending their unaccompanied children to the border, please reconsider because it is very dangerous to expose children, Chavez said.
Official CBP figures show that apprehensions at the border have increased for 10 consecutive months, including the last nine of Trump's administration.
President Biden's administration has encountered a surge at the southern border over the last two months.
On March 24, Biden tapped Harris to lead the administration's efforts to stem what he called a 'serious spike' in immigration at the border.
The president announced his decision in a meeting with Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on the situation at the border.
Biden said he has asked Harris 'to lead our efforts' with Mexico and other nations that need help in 'stemming' immigration.
He described her as the most qualified person for the job, pointing to her work as state attorney general of California.
'I've asked her, the VP today because she's most qualified person to do it to lead our efforts with Mexico and the northern triangle and the countries that need help in stemming the movement of so many folks stemming migration to our southern border,' he said.
'She's most qualified person to do it to lead our efforts,' he said.
The image of the child asking the Border Patrol officer was recorded just two days after U.S. Border Patrol released a surveillance video that showed human smugglers dropping two girls from Ecuador over a 14-foot high border wall in the New Mexico desert.
The sisters, aged three and five, were rescued by agents Tuesday and transferred to the Santa Teresa Border Patrol Station for medical evaluation.
Fox News obtained a photo Friday, that shows the girls interacting with Chavez, who handed them snacks at the processing center.
Biden now wants to RESTART construction on Trump's border wall to 'plug the gaps' - with kids' camps way over capacity and a new surge of migrants coming from Guatemala
Joe Biden is considering restarting construction on Donald Trump's southern border wall as his administration continues to grapple with a growing immigration crisis including record numbers of illegal crossers.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told employees, according to the Washington Times, that construction might resume to plug 'gaps' in the current barrier between the U.S. and Mexico.
The move comes as Biden made a big spectacle on Day One of his administration by issuing an executive order freezing Department of Defense funding for border wall construction. He later officially ended the emergency order at the border, but there were concerns about where the funds would go that were already appropriated for the border wall project.
Now Biden's administration is facing record numbers of migrants arriving at the southern border every day and federal government holding facilities are 'stretched beyond thin,' according to an independent report concluded after a visit to the sites.
Mayorkas told Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) employees during a meeting last week that Biden canceling the construction left 'room to make decisions' on finishing 'gaps in the wall.'
Joe Biden is considering restarting construction on Donald Trump's southern border wall to fill 'gaps'
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said construction would help fill 'gaps in the wall' as the Biden administration faces an increased immigration crisis and record numbers of illegal crossers
These gaps allow migrants to cross into the U.S. by foot, likely exacerbating the ongoing crisis
Here many large unfinished gaps can be seen in the border fencing in Cameron County, Texas
In Douglas, Arizona, a gap is filled with vehicle barriers that don't stop people crossing on foot
'It's not a single answer to a single question. There are different projects that the chief of the Border Patrol has presented and the acting commissioner of CBP [Customs and Border Protection] presented to me,' Mayorkas said, according to notes of the ICE session reviewed by the Times.
'The president has communicated quite clearly his decision that the emergency that triggered the devotion of DOD funds to the construction of the border wall is ended,' he continued. 'But that leaves room to make decisions as the administration – as part of the administration – in particular areas of the wall that need renovation, particular projects that need to be finished.'
On February 11, Biden ended Trump's southern border emergency, which was issued through executive order in February 2019.
In the reversal, Biden slammed Trump by saying: 'Building a massive wall that spans the entire southern border is not a serious policy solution. It is a waste of money that diverts attention from genuine threats to our homeland security.'
There were immediate concerns with the legality of the reversal, with experts claiming it could be illegal for Biden to stop funding that was already appropriate in Congress-approved funding for the wall specifically.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) launched an inquiry last month related to Biden stopping funding for the border wall construction project.
The president campaigned on the promise of immediately ending the building work along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told ICE employees on Friday they are considering filling 'gaps' and 'gates'
Charles Young, a public affairs officer for the GAO, confirmed they were investigating whether Biden was legally allowed to end the construction.
Congress approved nearly $1.4 billion in border wall funding in December 2020 for fiscal year 2021 as part of a $900 billion coronavirus stimulus package under Trump.
Chair of the Senate Republican Policy Committee Roy Blunt slammed Biden for the change, claiming as a 36-year veteran of the Senate, he should know procedure better.
'He was in the Congress a long time,' Blunt said. 'He knows it's the Congress' job to authorize how the money is spent and the president's job to spend it efficiently.'
It now appears that Biden could be reversing his reversal by going forward with construction of the wall – at least in some parts.
Mayorkas says these new projects at the wall could include filling in 'gaps,' adding 'gates' and reconciling areas 'where the wall has been completed but the technology has not been implemented.'
Notes of the meeting show CBP, the agency that oversees the border wall, has submitted a plan for what it wants to see implemented.
Border and immigration agencies are struggling to find places for the mass amount of migrants.
While Biden's administration vows they are turning away the majority of adults and family units, they claim they will not turn away unaccompanied children arriving at the border.
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