Migrants from Honduras, part of a caravan of thousands from Central America trying to reach the United States, put their hands in the air as they surrender to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official in San Diego County, U.S., after crossing illegally from Mexico to the U.S by jumping a border fence, photographed from Tijuana, Mexico, December 3, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
(Reuters) – A video showing young children being dropped by a suspected smuggler from an 18-foot (5.5-meter) border fence in Arizona into the arms of their family was released by U.S. Border Patrol on Monday.
The Yuma, Arizona sector of the U.S.-Mexico border has seen a sharp rise in illegal entries by migrant families as authorities tighten controls at Tijuana and Mexicali border crossings to the west with the arrival of a Central American immigrant caravan.
The video showed the suspected smuggler helping adults from a Guatemalan family climb the fence then dropping their 2-year-old and 7-year-old children from the top of the wall. (Video: bit.ly/2SrAALe)
The six family members all surrendered to U.S. Border Patrol agents who arrived on scene, the agency said in a statement.
One child suffered a bloody nose and was treated by agents. The suspected smuggler went back into Mexico and was not apprehended, the Border Patrol said.
Reporting by Andrew Hay in Los Angeles; Editing by Lisa Shumaker
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