Human smugglers reportedly now looking to teens to do their dirty work of making the trip across the border with illegal migrants.
QUICK FACTS:
- Human smugglers are hiring teens to carry illegal immigrants across the border into the United States, according to The Epoch Times.
- Teen drivers are said to be earning hundreds of dollars per illegal immigrant that they transport from Mexico into the United States.
- Cartels are finding teens amenable to the task and offering sums of over $3,000 via the social media platform TikTok, as Fox News reported in April of last year
- Juveniles are apparently told that if they go fast enough officers will stop pursuing them eventually.
BORDER PATROL’S WARNING TO TEENS:
- “This is an alarming trend because many of these teenagers underestimate the severity of the crime. Not only can they be prosecuted and sent to jail, but they also endanger lives through their actions,” said Brian S. Hastings, Chief Patrol Agent of the Rio Grande Valley Sector (RGV).
- “I encourage parents to talk to their children and educate them on the potential consequences and dangers of this trend,” said Hastings.
BACKGROUND:
- A report from Reuters stated that a growing number of teens in Texas and California are being recruited for trafficking.
- U.S. Border Patrol has started recording data on juvenile drivers starting in the fiscal year 2021.
- Attorneys at groups like the American Civil Liberties Union have called on border patrol agents to restrict high-speed chases only to suspects who they believe have carried out violent felonies.
