Border agents near the Yuma Sector in Arizona provided some shocking footage on Monday. A group of migrants were attempting to make their way over a 16-foot border wall east of the San Luis port of entry, when a toddler fell to the ground. The agents were able to both apprehend the illegal immigrants, and care for the injured child. (Warning: some may find the following video disturbing).
YumaSector #USBP agents apprehended 49 individuals from Guatemala who illegally crossed an outdated section of 16-foot border wall yesterday. During the incident, a 3-year-old girl fell off the smugglers’ ladder. Agents rendered aid to the child who sustained minor injuries. pic.twitter.com/OHoCYEkmSR
— CBP Arizona (@CBPArizona) January 28, 2019
"I don't know if the mother was with the child," Jose Garibay, Border Patrol's Yuma Sector spokesman, told the Arizona Republic. "But in the video you can see that the child actually falls from almost the top of the border wall and lands on the ground and may or may not have tried to be stopped by the individuals who are in the group."
It was just a glimpse of the very dangerous environment right now at the U.S.-Mexico border. Border patrol has hospitalized more than 2,200 individuals trying to cross the border since December.
Authorities were forced to use tear gas last month when roughly 150 caravan riders stormed the border, some of whom threw rocks. The Department of Homeland Security defended the use of "minimum force."
"Once again we have had a violent mob of migrants attempt to enter the United States illegally by attacking our agents with projectiles," said Katie Waldman, a DHS spokeswoman.
The border crisis shuttered the government for 35 days, as President Trump and Democrats sparred over the best course of action. Trump wants $5.7 billion to help build a more robust border wall, but Democrats won't give one penny to it. They want funds to go to features like improved technology, not a physical barrier. As Trump has repeatedly noted, this is despite the fact that Democrats have supported barriers in recent years.
You may have noticed the government is back open, but it's only for three weeks. Trump signed a CR that would temporarily lift the burden on federal workers, but come Feb. 15 we're back to square one. If he can't strike a deal with Democrats, Trump has floated the possibility of declaring a national emergency to build the wall.