An illegal immigrant with ties to MS-13, the most violent gang in North America, was recently caught by Customs and Border Protection posing as a father. He travelled across the U.S.-Mexico border with a year-and-a-half year old toddler who was sick with chickenpox.
#BorderPatrol Agent caring for 1.5 yr old child with chickenpox who was part of a fraudulent family unit. The male who the child was with is not related to the child and has ties to MS-13 gang. Our Agents continue to do their best during this crisis. pic.twitter.com/vvCMQVuvA1
— CBP El Centro (@CBPElCentro) June 7, 2019
As Townhall has been reporting since this crisis started in 2014, children are being trafficked to stranger adults as a ticket into the U.S. Under current immigration law, "family units" cannot be detained for more than 20 days. The illegal immigration and asylum backlog is two years long and therefore, "family units" are released into the United States as they wait for their court dates. Violent organizations like MS-13 are taking advantage.
Smugglers are hired for as much as $20,000 per person and pair unrelated adults to unrelated children. The entire purpose is to claim asylum, valid or not, with the understanding that “family units” are apprehended and then released to the interior of the United States. Since 2008, asylum claims have ballooned by 1,700 percent according to DHS data.
Under the Obama administration, 80-90 percent of individuals making asylum claims with children were released after being processed and given a court date. Inevitably, they started living in the U.S. illegally for years to come. This is the policy the Trump administration is trying to change.
Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and HHS agents have been heavily criticized for a number of child deaths in the past six months. The responsibility for the childrens' conditions, which were dire upon arrival, lies solely with the smugglers.