Suspected Human Smuggler Seen Dropping Small Children From 18-Foot Wall at US-Mexico Border

Surveillance footage released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows children being dropped from an 18-foot wall along the U.S.-Mexico border near San Luis, Arizona.

Customs and Border Protection officials said that on the morning of Dec. 3 security camera operators observed a group of six illegal aliens, including two small children, making their way over the border wall.

At least one person on the Mexico side was spotted helping adult members of the family traverse the wall at a point near the San Luis port of entry in Arizona, according to CBP.

The unidentified individual was caught on camera dropping two young children from the top of the 18-foot wall down to waiting family members below. Officials said the person who helped the family traverse the wall retreated to Mexico and was not arrested.

One of the children was reported to have sustained a facial injury.

The family of six that illegally crossed the border into the United States includes three children, ages 2, 7, and 10, and is from Guatemala, according to CBP. All surrendered to border patrol agents who arrived on the scene.

The child that suffered a facial injury was treated by border patrol agents, according to CBP.

All members of the group were taken into custody.

CBP officials said the section of the wall where the breach occurred is part of a section that has been selected and funded for replacement.

Caravan Migrants Breach Border

At least two dozen Central American migrants, who claim to be disillusioned and frustrated with the asylum-seeking process, illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border on Monday by scaling a 10-foot metal fence.

Reuters reported that other migrants managed to squeeze through the fence on the beach.

Karen Mayeni, a 29-year-old Honduran mother with three children aged between 6 and 12, told Reuters that she was standing by and watching others penetrating the border and “waiting to see what happens.” The woman said she would decide her family’s next action “in a couple of days.”

But about 90 minutes later, she and her children were seen on the U.S. side of the border, according to the report.

The migrants in Tijuana are part of several caravans that traveled through Mexico in an effort to enter the United States, citing issues such as widespread violence and dismal job prospects in their home countries.

Some migrants have said they hope to enter the United States legally on the basis of approved asylum claims, but others have said they intend to get across by any means necessary.

Plans for illegal crossings were curbed by the Trump administration’s decision to send troops to protect the border and impose a new policy that requires every migrant seeking asylum to remain in Mexico, where their cases will be heard. That rule was struck down last month by a federal judge.

Tijuana Mayor Juan Manuel Gastélum said it is costing the city $25,000 per day to feed and house the 7,000 migrants currently in the city.

He told Fox News that Tijuana cannot continue providing support for the migrants, saying the city’s resources have been depleted.

“In those six hours that the border was closed, we lost approximately 129 million pesos,” he said, referring to recent clashes at the border. “That’s not fair. How do you think people from Tijuana feel toward those people who are making problems?”