Border Patrol agents are facing increasingly distressing cases as they rescue children being smuggled into the U.S. by drug cartels, many of whom are heavily sedated during the journey. El Centro Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino described one recent case in which agents found a child drugged with sleep aids to prevent him from alerting authorities.
The trafficker, who had birth certificates for other children, was using the young boy to further his criminal operation. Bovino called the situation “reprehensible” and highlighted the growing dangers that vulnerable minors face as cartels ramp up their smuggling efforts.
In just 48 hours, agents encountered two more minors in similar situations, all of them drugged and terrified. The traffickers, who were unrelated to the children, employed extreme measures to keep their victims quiet during transport.
The border crisis in California has intensified, with the state now leading the country in apprehensions despite having one of the shortest border stretches. Record numbers of illegal migrants and drugs are pouring into the state, pushing Border Patrol agents to their limits.
During recent congressional testimony, former Border Patrol Chief Aaron Heitke detailed how young girls are often trafficked into prostitution after being smuggled across the border. Many of these girls are recruited in Mexico and forced into the sex trade in U.S. cities like Los Angeles and Oakland.
Law enforcement officials argue that the solution to the crisis lies in enforcing existing immigration laws. Former ICE Chief Tom Homan and Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux both agree that without serious policy changes, criminal cartels will continue to exploit children and women at the border.
