6-year old reports mother to police after leaving children alone with migrants

A total of nine people, five migrant adults and four American minors were rescued earlier this month from a Sunland Park, New Mexico home, according to police and immigration enforcement officers.

Police and Border Patrol officers were dispatched to the 100 block of Birch Drive in relation to a welfare concern after police received a 911 call from a “scared” 6-year old who said his mother had left him alone with strangers in the house.

An official report from police stated that the home was in an unbearable state. Police found clothing littered on the floor and bugs around the home, according to the report.

Upon her arrest, Irma Evelyn Pasillas-Estebane, the mother, was placed in custody of Dona Ana County and was charged with several counts of child abuse.

In her initial statement to law enforcement, she explained that she worked overnight and was exhausted by the time her shift ended to clean up the home.

A statement from the mother stated that she was caring for an elderly woman in Chaparral, New Mexico.

Eventually, she changed her story and admitted to sleeping with men for money, but insisted she did not know all of the illegal immigrants found within her residence.

As a small town in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States, Sunland Park lies near the border with Texas and the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Ciudad Juárez lies to the south and El Paso, Texas, lies to the east.

Dona Ana County records a crime every 43 minutes on average.