Three Migrant Children Abandoned by Smugglers on Texas Bank of Rio Grande

Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents discovered three unaccompanied migrant children abandoned by human smugglers on the banks of the river that separates Mexico and Texas. The discoveries came in two separate incidents.

Rio Grande Valley Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez tweeted a photo on Wednesday of a young girl abandoned by human smugglers near Weslaco, Texas. The smugglers left the toddler alone and in the dark Tuesday night on the Texas bank of the Rio Grande.

One day earlier, Chavez tweeted another photo showing two children left on the Texas bank of the Rio Grande Monday night. Agents heard the eight-year-old girl calling for help after being abandoned by the human smuggling guide during a storm. The agents assigned to the Fort Brown Station near Brownsville, Texas, took possession of the brother and sister after Texas National Guard soldiers assigned to Operation Lone Star found them.

“Smuggling organizations continue to exploit children as a commodity!,” Chief Chavez stated. She reported that these children are part of the more than 25,000 unaccompanied migrant children found by agents so far this fiscal year.