Despite Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson vowing to "stem the tide" of unaccompanied illegal minors across the southern border with Mexico, thousands more are expected to enter the United States by the end of the year. With the system being overwhelmed, Border Patrol agents are concerned about minors who have admitted to being MS-13 members, a brutal street gang from El Salvador that has been successful in infiltrating American communities. Agents are also concerned about minors who have committed acts like torture and murder in their home countries before heading north to the United States.
"We have six minors in Nogales who have admitted to killing and doing grievous bodily injuries. One admitted to killing as young as eight years old," an agent tells Townhall anonymously for fear of losing his job for speaking out. "They are being held for placement in the U.S."
By U.S. legal standards many gang members operating in Central American countries and traveling north are classified as minors due to being under the age of 18. However, many young males are actively engaged in violent cartel and criminal activity, yet are treated as children when processed through the Department of Human Services or Department of Homeland Security systems.
"But remember, this is a 'humanitarian crisis.' They are just kids," he said in a frustrated and sarcastic tone. "They are MS-13 gang members. They've done everything from torture to murder. They act as teenage 'enforcers.'"