EL PASO, TX - Special agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso and U.S. Border Patrol agents rescued a four-year-old girl and an infant who smugglers separated from their parents.
According to the El Paso Times, HSI agents received information on Thursday, November 7th, about a girl who was separated from her mother by human smugglers before they illegally crossed the southern border into the United States. An investigation into the missing girl led agents to also find an infant boy, who was also separated from his parents by the smugglers.
HSI El Paso Special Agent in Charge Jason T. Stevens said in a statement, "Two innocent children are out of harm's way today because of the swift join effort among HSI and our law enforcement partners without which this story would have had a much different, and possibly, tragic ending. Human smugglers put the lives of migrants in peril for the sake of greed, and this case is a stark reminder of the inherent dangers of the journey of people who entrust their lives and those of their loved ones to them."
HSI agents received information about a minor being taken from El Paso and heading to Las Cruces, New Mexico. HSI agents obtained two videos from within the car documenting the smuggling operation, as noted in the complaint affidavit. The affidavit read, "Videos like these are common to human smuggling ventures that update higher ranking members of the smuggling organizations about locations and arrivals of UNC's (undocumented non-citizens) that are being transported."
The first video showed a vehicle passing a road sign that said, "New Mexico Rest Area." It then shows the rear seat of the vehicle with a young girl and an infant. The girl was seated upright in the back seat of the car. She was not in a car seat. The infant is seen lying down on the seat, also not in a car seat.
The second video showed the driver passing the junction of Interstate 10 and Interstate 25 in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The video shows the girl and the infant in the smuggler's vehicle.
HSI agents notified law enforcement agencies in Las Cruces, New Mexico, of the vehicle and the missing children. U.S. Border Patrol agents conducted a traffic stop for an immigration check around 5:20 p.m. on Friday, November 8th, on a Chevrolet Malibu on I-25, north of Las Cruces. During that traffic stop, Border Patrol agents found two women inside of the car with the children. Agents asked the women if they had any relation to the two children to which both responding saying no.
Border Patrol agents sent photos of the children to HSI, who then confirmed they were the two children shown in the videos. Agents took the two women and the two children to the Las Cruces Border Patrol Station to be interviewed and processed. One of the women, identified in reports as 26-year-old Jenneyra Escamilla-Juarez, told agents she was being paid $600 to take the children from El Paso to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
She said she was smuggling the children because she needed the money. She admitted it was her first time smuggling migrants, but had previously working for a smuggling organization as a lookout. When asked why the children were not in car seats, she told agents that she did not have any car seats to use.
She told agents that she picked up the children on November 6th from an unknown individual in the Fox Plaza area in South Central El Paso. She said the children were kept at her home until the time came to transport them. Agents arrested Escamilla-Juarez, a U.S. citizen, on suspicion of human smuggling. She is being held without bond at El Paso County Jail.
The four-year-old was smuggled through one of the El Paso area points of entry. U.S. Border Patrol agents found the mother after she entered the U.S. illegally. She was reunited on November 8th with her mother. U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony "Scott" Good said in a statement, "We are relieved and overjoyed after the successful rescue of a missing child who was separated from her mother during an illegal smuggling attempt into the country.
Our dedicated agents and HSI law enforcement partners worked tirelessly to locate the infant and reunite her with her mother. This reunification is a powerful reminder of the importance to protect vulnerable individuals from smugglers exploitation as we remain committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of our border communities."
HSI El Paso officials are working with the Mexican consulate to identify and locate the infant boy's parents. It is unclear if the boy remains in U.S. custody.
According to the El Paso Times, HSI agents received information on Thursday, November 7th, about a girl who was separated from her mother by human smugglers before they illegally crossed the southern border into the United States. An investigation into the missing girl led agents to also find an infant boy, who was also separated from his parents by the smugglers.
HSI El Paso Special Agent in Charge Jason T. Stevens said in a statement, "Two innocent children are out of harm's way today because of the swift join effort among HSI and our law enforcement partners without which this story would have had a much different, and possibly, tragic ending. Human smugglers put the lives of migrants in peril for the sake of greed, and this case is a stark reminder of the inherent dangers of the journey of people who entrust their lives and those of their loved ones to them."
HSI agents received information about a minor being taken from El Paso and heading to Las Cruces, New Mexico. HSI agents obtained two videos from within the car documenting the smuggling operation, as noted in the complaint affidavit. The affidavit read, "Videos like these are common to human smuggling ventures that update higher ranking members of the smuggling organizations about locations and arrivals of UNC's (undocumented non-citizens) that are being transported."
The first video showed a vehicle passing a road sign that said, "New Mexico Rest Area." It then shows the rear seat of the vehicle with a young girl and an infant. The girl was seated upright in the back seat of the car. She was not in a car seat. The infant is seen lying down on the seat, also not in a car seat.
The second video showed the driver passing the junction of Interstate 10 and Interstate 25 in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The video shows the girl and the infant in the smuggler's vehicle.
HSI agents notified law enforcement agencies in Las Cruces, New Mexico, of the vehicle and the missing children. U.S. Border Patrol agents conducted a traffic stop for an immigration check around 5:20 p.m. on Friday, November 8th, on a Chevrolet Malibu on I-25, north of Las Cruces. During that traffic stop, Border Patrol agents found two women inside of the car with the children. Agents asked the women if they had any relation to the two children to which both responding saying no.
Border Patrol agents sent photos of the children to HSI, who then confirmed they were the two children shown in the videos. Agents took the two women and the two children to the Las Cruces Border Patrol Station to be interviewed and processed. One of the women, identified in reports as 26-year-old Jenneyra Escamilla-Juarez, told agents she was being paid $600 to take the children from El Paso to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
She said she was smuggling the children because she needed the money. She admitted it was her first time smuggling migrants, but had previously working for a smuggling organization as a lookout. When asked why the children were not in car seats, she told agents that she did not have any car seats to use.
She told agents that she picked up the children on November 6th from an unknown individual in the Fox Plaza area in South Central El Paso. She said the children were kept at her home until the time came to transport them. Agents arrested Escamilla-Juarez, a U.S. citizen, on suspicion of human smuggling. She is being held without bond at El Paso County Jail.
The four-year-old was smuggled through one of the El Paso area points of entry. U.S. Border Patrol agents found the mother after she entered the U.S. illegally. She was reunited on November 8th with her mother. U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony "Scott" Good said in a statement, "We are relieved and overjoyed after the successful rescue of a missing child who was separated from her mother during an illegal smuggling attempt into the country.
Our dedicated agents and HSI law enforcement partners worked tirelessly to locate the infant and reunite her with her mother. This reunification is a powerful reminder of the importance to protect vulnerable individuals from smugglers exploitation as we remain committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of our border communities."
HSI El Paso officials are working with the Mexican consulate to identify and locate the infant boy's parents. It is unclear if the boy remains in U.S. custody.
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