Border Patrol rescues 2 migrant children in desert

PHOENIX —

A Border Patrol agent rescued an infant and toddler abandoned by migrant smugglers at Organ Pipe Cactus National Park in Arizona, the agency reported.

A migrant in a group of border crossers arrested Thursday west of the Lukeville, Arizona port of entry tipped an agent where the children were located.

Later, an 18-month-old boy and a 4-month-old baby were found; the first was crying and the second was face down and unconscious. Both have received medical care at a hospital and were turned over to Border Patrol once more.

“Yesterday smugglers left two small children — a baby and an infant — in the Sonoran Desert to fend for themselves,” John Modlin, chief of the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector, said in a statement. “This is not just another example of smugglers exploiting migrants for money. This is cruelty.”

It is unknown at this time if the smugglers blamed for abandoning the children are among those arrested. Authorities did not release any details regarding the children: their gender, their country of origin, or the identity of their parents or guardians.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Park straddles the border with Mexico in southwestern Arizona, a rugged, arid landscape teeming with massive cacti and other desert flora. It is located regarding 130 miles (210 kilometers) southwest of Phoenix.

Due to its remoteness, the 1,340-square-kilometer (517-square-mile) park is an area used by some smugglers to cross the border. Dead bodies of people crossing illegally are frequently found in the area.

Although temperatures in Organ Pipe Cactus National Park often exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius) in the summer, on Thursday the temperature was just over 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) due to monsoon weather. more fresh.

The agent who found the children began to apply first aid to the baby while waiting for the arrival of paramedics from the Border Patrol and the National Park Service.

An ambulance took the children to a hospital for further medical care. They were later returned to Border Patrol officials, who were trying to urgently place them with the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which oversees the care of migrant children picked up in the United States without their families.

The Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector says it has seen a 12% increase in the number of unaccompanied children being smuggled across the border in the last fiscal year.