A 10-year-old boy from El Salvador was thankful to be rescued by Texas state troopers after being abandoned by smugglers at the U.S. border on Thanksgiving Day.
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According to the New York Post, the boy crossed the border into Maverick County, Texas on Thursday carrying only a cellphone when smugglers ditched him in a deserted part of the area.
In a video shared on social media by Texas Department of Public Safety Lieut. Christopher Olivarez, the crying boy told troopers he was searching for his parents, who had crossed the border earlier, and trusted smugglers to deliver him to them in America.
“This morning (Thursday) … troopers found a 10-year-old boy from El Salvador who was brought across the border in Maverick County by a smuggling guide who left him behind,” wrote Olivarez.
“The child was crying and told troopers a smuggling guide left him behind and that he was lost. The child only had a phone and stated his parents were in the US. The child was turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol.”
The Post reported that the area has been a known hotspot for unattended migrant children. A few days prior, authorities found a two-year-old girl from El Salvador who had crossed the border with 60 unattended children.
A video of troopers questioning the toddler went viral, igniting outrage over the crisis at the border.
According to federal data, more than 529,000 migrant children have entered the United States during the Biden administration. This past August, a federal watchdog report noted the federal government had lost track of about 320,000 migrant children who crossed the border without their parents.
The Post reported once the children enter the country, U.S. Border Patrol places them in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services, which is tasked with vetting their sponsors in the States.