It's hard to believe, but there are hundreds of asylum seekers attempting to enter the United States more easily by "renting" children. This "family fraud," as it's called, has become a focus for Arizona border control after at least 700 claims were filed. The individuals in question reportedly were found attempting to enter the country with children who weren't their own, allegedly rented from smugglers.
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Entering the country as a family makes border patrol authorities more sympathetic to their cause. Thus, families are more likely to be released. Homeland Security Investigations sent a team to investigate the growing number of claims in Arizona. While the "family fraud" amounts to only a small percentage of the large number of people seeking asylum, it is serious and human trafficking is a problem on the border. A Tucson newspaper reports:
In the most serious case found by the Star, a federal grand jury in Tucson indicted a Guatemalan man on human-smuggling charges on March 27.
Prosecutors said Maynor Velasquez Molina paid $130 to the family of an 8-year-old boy so he could pretend the boy was his son when they entered the United States.
Velasquez and the boy crossed the border west of Lukeville on Feb. 18 along with 101 other migrants, according to a criminal complaint. Velasquez showed Border Patrol agents a Guatemalan birth certificate to prove the boy was his son, but four days later agents determined the claim was false.
Make no mistake — children are in jeopardy, which is why it is imperative that U.S. border patrol officials are careful and meticulous about vetting people who enter the country. IWF Fellow and veteran journalist Sara Carter has been reporting on the ground from the border crisis this year and discussed the horrific scenes she's witnessed in our latest episode of the "She Thinks" podcast.
Even progressive news outlets have finally admitted that there is a border crisis, and these kinds of reports add legitimacy to that admission. Children's lives are in jeopardy and they deserve due diligence in ensuring they aren't being abused or harmed.