EAGLE PASS, TX - Authorities with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) said that its troopers found two illegal immigrant children that were abandoned at the southern border by smugglers who fled back to Mexico as law enforcement came to the girls' rescue.
According Fox News, DPS said that their troopers recovered the two little girls, who are five and nine years old, after the smuggler had left them at the border and fled back to Mexico. The girls, who are from El Salvador, were carrying a handwritten note with them that had a phone number and address on it.
This incident is one of many as concerns grow about the number of unaccompanied illegal immigrant children coming across the southern border. Law Enforcement Today previously reported on a two-year-old that was picked up at the southern border alone with a piece of paper that had a first name and phone number on it.
That child was also from El Salvador and was among a group of 200 illegal immigrants, including 60 unaccompanied minors, that were detained after illegally crossing the border into Maverick County, Texas.
There have been a number of incidents of abandoned children being rescued, often with phone numbers or addresses of relatives or others written on paper or stitched into clothing. When these illegal immigrant children arrive to the U.S. unaccompanied, they are transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and then released to sponsors in the U.S.
Earlier in the year the DHS Office of Inspector General sent a report to Congress finding that over the past five years more than 32,000 unaccompanied migrant children (UCs) had not shown up for immigration court hearings and that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could not account for the location of all of those who did not appear.
The report stated, in part, "During our ongoing audit to assess ICE's ability to monitor the location and status of UCs who were released or transferred from the custody of the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), we learned ICE transferred more than 448,000 UCs to HHS from fiscal years 2019 to 2023."
It added, "However, ICE was not able to account for the location of all UCs who were released by HHS and did not appear as scheduled in immigration court. ICE reported more than 32,000 UCs failed to appear for their immigration court hearings from FYs 2019 to 2023."
The watchdog group also found that approximately 291,000 unaccompanied migrant children have not yet been marked for removal proceedings because ICE has routinely failed to schedule immigration court dates and serve notices.
ICEs fiscal year 2024 report found that despite the surge of more than 500,000 unaccompanied migrant children into the United States during the Biden administration, just 411 were removed in fiscal year 2024, an increase from the 212 in fiscal year 2023. For comparison, more than 4,000 were removed in fiscal year 2022.
Back in November, Texas DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez said in a statement, "It's very concerning when we come across any type of child that's coming across the border alone, especially on a piece of paper, just we don't know exactly what happens to them on their journey and where they end up afterwards."
According Fox News, DPS said that their troopers recovered the two little girls, who are five and nine years old, after the smuggler had left them at the border and fled back to Mexico. The girls, who are from El Salvador, were carrying a handwritten note with them that had a phone number and address on it.
This incident is one of many as concerns grow about the number of unaccompanied illegal immigrant children coming across the southern border. Law Enforcement Today previously reported on a two-year-old that was picked up at the southern border alone with a piece of paper that had a first name and phone number on it.
That child was also from El Salvador and was among a group of 200 illegal immigrants, including 60 unaccompanied minors, that were detained after illegally crossing the border into Maverick County, Texas.
There have been a number of incidents of abandoned children being rescued, often with phone numbers or addresses of relatives or others written on paper or stitched into clothing. When these illegal immigrant children arrive to the U.S. unaccompanied, they are transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and then released to sponsors in the U.S.
Earlier in the year the DHS Office of Inspector General sent a report to Congress finding that over the past five years more than 32,000 unaccompanied migrant children (UCs) had not shown up for immigration court hearings and that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could not account for the location of all of those who did not appear.
The report stated, in part, "During our ongoing audit to assess ICE's ability to monitor the location and status of UCs who were released or transferred from the custody of the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), we learned ICE transferred more than 448,000 UCs to HHS from fiscal years 2019 to 2023."
It added, "However, ICE was not able to account for the location of all UCs who were released by HHS and did not appear as scheduled in immigration court. ICE reported more than 32,000 UCs failed to appear for their immigration court hearings from FYs 2019 to 2023."
The watchdog group also found that approximately 291,000 unaccompanied migrant children have not yet been marked for removal proceedings because ICE has routinely failed to schedule immigration court dates and serve notices.
ICEs fiscal year 2024 report found that despite the surge of more than 500,000 unaccompanied migrant children into the United States during the Biden administration, just 411 were removed in fiscal year 2024, an increase from the 212 in fiscal year 2023. For comparison, more than 4,000 were removed in fiscal year 2022.
Back in November, Texas DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez said in a statement, "It's very concerning when we come across any type of child that's coming across the border alone, especially on a piece of paper, just we don't know exactly what happens to them on their journey and where they end up afterwards."
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