Border patrol agents rescue 2 babies abandoned by smugglers in Arizona desert

Border Patrol agents rescued an infant and a toddler who were left behind by migrant smugglers at Arizona’s Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

Authorities were informed about the children’s location by an undocumented migrant that was part of a group that was arrested on Thursday near Lukeville, Arizona.

Police headed to the location and found an 18-month-old crying and the 4-month-old face down and unresponsive. The two children were taken to a hospital to receive medical attention.

The children were discharged and returned to Border Patrol to begin their processing. They will be placed with the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which oversees unaccompanied minors that cross the border.

"Yesterday smugglers left two young children — an infant and a toddler — in the Sonoran Desert to die," Tucson Sector Border Patrol Chief John Modlin said in a statement. "This is not just another example of smugglers exploiting migrants for money. This is cruelty."

It is unknown if the smugglers who left the children behind were among those in the group that was arrested.

“The heartlessness of smugglers cannot be underestimated,” added Modlin.

Border Patrol did not release any details on the genders or nationalities of the children.

According to Tuscon’s Border Patrol, there has been a 12% increase in unaccompanied children being smuggled across the border compared to last year and a 234% increase over 2020.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is a harsh, dry landscape that stretches along the Mexican border with Arizona. The area is often used by smugglers to get migrants into the U.S. because of its remoteness.