Disturbing video released Wednesday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows smugglers dropping two toddler sisters from atop a 14-foot-high barrier at the U.S.-Mexico border in New Mexico.
The incident occurred Tuesday evening just west of Mount Cristo Rey, where a Border Patrol camera operator spotted the smugglers by using infrared camera technology.
According to the agency, one of the suspects dropped the Ecuadoran children, ages 3 and 5, then both smugglers fled the scene on foot and "abandoned the helpless little girls on the north side of the international boundary line."
The camera operator notified fellow agents and directed them to the remote location, where they found the young sisters and rendered aid. Both girls were alert when the agents located them, officials said.
The children were transported to the Santa Teresa Border Patrol Station for evaluation, then to a hospital as a precaution. They were medically cleared and remained in temporary custody of the agency, pending placement by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Toddler sisters dropped from atop 14-foot wall by smuggler at southern border, disturbing video shows
Disturbing video released Wednesday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows smugglers dropping two toddler sisters from atop a 14-foot-high barrier at the U.S.-Mexico border in New Mexico.
