Immigration

Heroes: Abandoned one-year-old rescued by CBP at Arizona-Mexico border

More than 57,000 unaccompanied minors have arrived so far in 2023 at the US-Mexico border

Inmediatamente tras el abandono, se acerca al lugar una unidad de la agencia, y una agente se baja del vehículo para rescatar al pequeño | Shutterstock

By ADN America Staff

March 27, 2023 10:41am

Updated: March 27, 2023 10:43am

A U.S. Border Patrol agent on Monday rescued a one-year-old Guatemalan boy who was abandoned by a coyote smuggler, near the shoreline of the Colorado River on the Arizona-Mexico border.

Images released by Border Patrol chief Raúl Ortiz show the moment the coyote left the boy near the river and ran back to the Mexican side.

Immediately after the abandonment, an agency unit approached the place, and an agent got out of the vehicle to rescue the child.

"A one-year-old Guatemalan boy was abandoned on the banks of the Colorado River Monday afternoon by a smuggler who took him across the border and then left him alone near the water. Thanks to our agent's quick response, the tragedy was avoided!" Ortiz commented on his Twitter profile.

A one-year-old Guatemalan child was abandoned along the Colorado River Monday afternoon by a smuggler who took him across the border and then left him to fend for himself along the water’s edge. Thanks to our agent’s quick response, tragedy was averted! pic.twitter.com/mY2K7t59VE
— Chief Raul Ortiz (@USBPChief) March 23, 2023

The U.S. official also shared a photo of the hero of the day: the Border Patrol agent with the child in his arms.

For his part, John Mennell, spokesman for the Customs and Border Protection (CBP), told CNN that the minor will be under the supervision of the Office of Refugee Resettlement of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Mennell also confirmed that the child has already been identified, but for security reasons the agency will not make this information public.