A two-year-old migrant girl who traveled alone from El Salvador to the United States was found by authorities, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).
The girl, carrying only a piece of paper with a phone number and a name, told a DPS trooper that her parents were already in the country.
The news comes as a group of more than 200 migrants entered the U.S. unlawfully near Maverick County and were apprehended by authorities.
Lieutenant Chris Olivarez, a spokesperson for the DPS-South Texas, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that troopers found 211 undocumented immigrants, including 60 unaccompanied children, ranging in age from two to 17.
Border Patrol agents take asylum seekers into custody in March 2021 in McAllen, Texas. A two-year-old migrant girl has traveled from El Salvador to the U.S. alone.
John Moore/Getty
Among the group were six people from Mali and Angola, who Olivarez said were “special interest immigrants.” The term refers to people from countries or regions that U.S. national security agencies consider to have potential links to terrorism or pose security concerns.
Newsweek has contacted the DPS for comment via email outside of normal office hours.
Border security and immigration policy were a core component of the Republicans‘ victory over the Democrats in this year’s election cycle.
Olivarez said in a post on X: “This is a stark example of the precarious journey these children make from their home country & how criminal organizations traffic these children across the southern border & further into the interior.
“Regardless of political views, it is unacceptable for any child to be exposed to dangerous criminal trafficking networks.
“With a record number of unaccompanied children and hundreds of thousands missing, there is no one ensuring the safety & security of these children except for the men & women who are on the frontlines daily.
“Despite the criticism over the years, the reality is that many children are exploited & trafficked, never to be heard from again.”
A recent audit conducted by the Department of Homeland Security‘s Office of Inspector General revealed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) failed to monitor more than 30,000 unaccompanied migrant children after they were released from government custody.
More than 900 children have been rescued from abandonment and human smuggling as part of the state’s ongoing Operation Lone Star, according to DPS.
In 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott launched Operation Lone Star, an $11 billion policy that involved integrating the DPS with the Texas National Guard “to combat the smuggling of people and drugs into Texas.”
The operation is a wider initiative by the state to clamp down on illegal immigration, human trafficking and drug smuggling.
Since its launch, Operation Lone Star has resulted in the apprehension of over 521,100 undocumented immigrants and more than 47,400 criminal arrests, including over 41,000 felony charges, according to Governor Abbott’s office. The initiative has also helped reduce illegal crossings into Texas by more than 86 percent.
Meanwhile, a group of more than 100 migrants who entered the U.S. illegally near Eagle Pass, Texas, were apprehended by DPS troops on November 19.
DPS troopers found 154 migrants, including 20 unaccompanied children—15 boys and five girls.
Among the group were six people from Afghanistan classified as “special interest immigrants.”
This post was originally published on here
