Border Patrol agents are increasingly concerned about the growing practice of traffickers smuggling children into the US under false pretenses, including posing as their parents or family members and drugging them with sleep aids. In recent weeks, authorities have encountered two such instances involving kids as young as eight years old.
This alarming trend has led to an increase in smugglers posing as family units to “recycle” children, according to Border Patrol sources. Thousands of children were observed being smuggled across the border, only to be sent back with different “parents” after a period of time. The true fate of these children remains unknown, but many are at risk for exploitation in child labor and sex trafficking.
Leaders within Border Patrol have expressed horror at these criminal actions, which defy human decency. In one case, a child was heavily sedated with sleep aids to prevent communication with authorities. Traffickers were found to possess birth certificates for multiple children they weren’t related to.
In another instance, 28-year-old Marlen Contreras-Lopez was caught at the San Luis Arizona port of entry with two drugged children she claimed were her relatives. Upon further inspection, it became clear there was no family connection, and the children informed officers that they had been given sleep aids to avoid detection during their journey.
Contreras-Lopez now faces smuggling charges, while the two children were handed over to Mexican authorities. The Biden-Harris administration has seen a significant increase in unaccompanied migrant children crossing into the US alone, with many released to sponsors who are not thoroughly vetted. As a result, thousands of these children have gone missing and remain unaccounted for after failing to appear in court.
