Tensions remain high at all lengths of the southern border as illegal immigration continues to soar. One common complaint about enforcement is that children are either being separated from their parents or potentially harmed in some way. A recent video taken at the Arizona border shows some kids who probably should be separated from their parents — the abuse was captured on camera.
The video was shared by ABC news, and viewer discretion is advised. The clip was filmed at a border fence in Arizona, equipped with a wire fence over a watery ditch, just a short distance away from the official San Juan del Rio Colorado border crossing. The barbed wire and freezing water should be enough of a deterrent, but the clip shows adults forcing young children into the chilly depths and right through the piercing, razor sharp wire.
The children are in obvious distress and afraid as the adults force them in and eventually under the cold water:
“The blades of the concertina wire ensnare shirts and jackets of asylum seekers who are dunked into the 55-degree water, wading through the drainage ditch just yards from the San Juan del Rio Colorado border crossing,” ABC News reporter Matt Gutman said.
The adults were not deterred, and despite the crying children and shouts from horrified border patrol agents nearby, forced the kids entirely under the water.
“One cannot easily make out faces, only wet fists gripping the steel slats and the piercing screams of children,” Gutman added. “On the other side, U.S. Border Patrol agents are filming and shouting in Spanish, ‘Go back…don’t do this. Look at the child! Hey! Be careful with the child! Be careful with the child!’”
Border Patrol agents are forbidden from intervening but can clearly be heard on the video.
“You’re going to traumatize this poor child,” one of them said. “She’s crying. … if she crosses the child can drown.”
There was no danger forcing the adults to cross the border and the children were not in danger until the parents shoved them into and under the water. On the Mexico side of the border, Mexican authorities also tried to intervene and prevent the abuse.
After several moments in the chilly water, the children are rescued by Mexican police. According to reporters, one officer removed a child from his mother and brought him to dry land. Another climbed into the cold water and blocked the entrance, preventing the parents from shoving any more children under the water and through the razor sharp wire.
Child safety continues to be a concern all along the border. According to Breitbart, another group of children almost drowned after being forced to enter the rapid paced Rio Grande river in an attempt to cross the border illegally earlier this year. These dangerous attempts put children at considerable risk, and highlight the need for a secured border with safe, legal passageways to the US.
