Border Patrol agents patrolling the border near Lukeville, Arizona, rescued a 6-year-old boy after his human smuggler abandoned him without food or water. The boy’s parents are reportedly already in the U.S.
Agents assigned to the Ajo Border Patrol Station came upon a little boy sitting alongside the roadway. They boy told them he had been left there by a smuggler and he was told “Border Patrol would pick him up,” Tucson Sector officials said in a statement provided to Breitbart Texas Tuesday evening.
The human smuggler, likely connected to a Mexican drug cartel, abandoned the boy in the desert a few miles west of the Lukeville Port of Entry, officials stated. Weather reports indicate temperatures in Lukeville were in excess of 103 degrees at the time. The area where the smuggler abandoned the child is wide open desert located west of the border town of Lukeville.
Border Patrol officials said the smuggler abandoned the child “without provisions.” Fortunately, the agents came upon the child before he had been exposed to the heat and lack of water for a dangerous period. Officials said the boy was in good condition.
Serious harm could have come to the child as Border Patrol agents just happened upon him as part of a routine patrol, a CBP official told Breitbart Texas. “This incident speaks specifically to the scenarios that adults are putting unsuspecting children into,” the official stated. “Those who were involved in presenting this child at the border are unconscionable.”
Agents learned the boy is a Costa Rican national and that his parents are already in the U.S. The boy told agents he was headed to see his parents.
Breitbart Texas reached out to Tucson Sector officials who confirmed the boys parents are in the U.S. but they could not comment on the parents’ immigration status.
“This incident highlights the dangers faced by migrants at the hands of smugglers,” Tucson Sector officials said in a written statement. “Children in particular are extremely vulnerable, not only to exploitation, but also to the elements in the environment.”
“Arizona’s desert is a merciless environment for those unprepared for its remote, harsh terrain and unpredictable weather,” officials concluded.
Border Patrol officials said the boy remains in their custody for now and is in good health. He will be processed according to Tucson Sector guidelines and will eventually make his way to Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement who will determine a disposition for the child’s custody.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX, GAB, and Facebook.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated with additional information from CBP officials.
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