Sobbing 10-Year-Old Boy Approaches Border Agent In Heartbreaking Video
The video was taken earlier this month and reveals the distressed boy sobbing and saying that he had woken up to discover that the group with whom he was journeying had left without him.
There are some stories that break your heart, and some stories that piece it back together. Unfortunately, this is a story that embraces the former.
Disturbing bodycam footage from a border patrol agent shows a 10-year-old Nicaraguan child crying and wandering alone on a quiet road in Texas earlier this month. The video has attracted worldwide attention as a real-life example of the rise in unaccompanied migrant children making their way to the U.S.-Mexico border.
The video was taken earlier this month and reveals the distressed boy sobbing and saying that he had woken up to discover that the group with whom he was journeying had left without him. CBS News reported on the story and aired the heartbreaking footage.
“I came looking because I didn’t know where to go, and they can also rob or kidnap me or something,” the boy managed to tell the officer between sobs.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection gave a statement to People which stated the agent “transported the child to a Border Patrol facility where he was fed and medically screened.”
“As with all unaccompanied alien children the border patrol encounters, he will be safely transferred to the custody of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement,” the statement from the institution clarified.
The Customs and Border Protection is a law enforcement agency, while the Department of Health and Human Services is an office that looks at the entire childhood experience in making decisions. The key difference means that Health and Human Services looks at general welfare instead of looking at solutions solely with an emphasis on law.
Because of the increase of children coming to the United States in recent months, though, many children are remaining in such centers for much longer before moving to a long-term facility.
The sobbing youngster brings the conversation about the southern border to the forefront; this comes as Border Control reports an increased flow of migrant children and families from South and Central America.
Analysts advise the reason people flee their country is complicated, and one most Americans can’t fathom. Some question why children would need to join a group that their family has paid to help them.
Because the families can’t see any other options, is the short answer.
In some instances, the kids can get separated from their family during a storm or if a cartel holds an adult hostage in an effort to extort money from the helpless families.
The video of the Nicaraguan boy comes a week after border patrol released footage of what it said were traffickers dropping two Ecuadorian girls, ages 3 and 5, over a 14-foot New Mexico border barrier in the desert.
“Immediately after both children landed on the ground, two smugglers immediately fled the area and abandoned the helpless little girls on the north side of the international boundary line,” read a CBP statement released with the footage.
It’s unclear if the Department of Health And Human Services has been able to contact the boy’s family.
