Smuggler carries 7-year-old across border in California, then abandons her, video shows

A 7-year-old girl was discovered alone on the U.S. side of the Mexico border by Border Patrol agents Tuesday morning, authorities said.

She was discovered around 9:25 a.m., when video surveillance operators at the El Centro Sector’s noticed a man with a small child clinging to his back on a rope ladder at the top of the 30-foot border fence, according to a statement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Border Patrol agents waited for the man to lower the child to the ground safely before intervening, fearing that if they acted sooner, the man may panic and drop the child.

The man, believed to be a smuggler, told the girl to walk north before he turned back without incident, the statement said.

Agents performed a welfare check on the child, who is from El Salvador. She was found about 50 feet north of the border, the statement said.

Agents then transported the child to the El Centro Sector Processing Center “to be medically evaluated and processed accordingly,” the statement said.

“No one, let alone a child of any age or race, should be exposed to the multitude of dangers when crossing illegally into this country,” said Chief Patrol Agent Gregory K. Bovino. “Smugglers will always view children as a commodity to gain a profit, disregarding the safety and well-being of any individual except their own.”

This story was originally published October 12, 2021 at 7:21 PM with the headline "Smuggler carries 7-year-old across border in California, then abandons her, video shows."