By Alexandra Mendoza
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) launched a campaign designed to deter people from crossing into the country illegally by showing the endless risks they face, including being abandoned by smugglers.
The Agency launched a Spanish-language video testimonial about a 19-year-old Central American man who attempted crossing with his father through the Rio Grande. Heatstroke left the man’s father unable to continue four hours away from the end of the trek. “[The smuggler] told me to just leave him there, that they would find him there,” recalls the Honduran immigrant whose name was not disclosed. “I told him no, that it was my dad; my dad could not open his mouth because he was all stiff, at the end of his rope.”
The anonymous testimonial is intended to illustrate the reality that thousands of immigrants face in their search for better opportunities in the United States.
“They just left us both in the middle of nowhere, so I threw him over my shoulder so I could get him out until I found a street,” he said. Later, both he and his father were rescued by Border Patrol Rio Grande Especial Operations officers.
The video is one in a series of testimonials collected by the Federal government as part of a Spanish-language awareness campaign whose purpose is to “highlight the cruel reality faced by thousands of Central American immigrants during their journey to the U.S. border at the hands of ruthless human traffickers,” states a CBP press release. “Human traffickers are cold-blooded individuals who have absolutely no respect for human life. Getting sick during a trek has become a death sentence for thousands of immigrants who have put their trust in ruthless criminals,” shared Jaime Ruiz, National spokesperson for the series of testimonials, in a press release.
“If an immigrant gets sick or hurt, he will most likely be left to die; we see this almost every day,” he added.
According to CBP data, just over 150,000 Central American immigrants have been detained at the U.S.-Mexico border. Most of these detentions have occurred in the Rio Grande Sector, followed by Tucson and El Paso, while 1,151 immigrants have been detained at the San Diego Border.
The videos will be disseminated through the El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala embassies with the goal of making these immigrants aware of the dangers they will face in their journey, among them harsh climates and abuse, extortion, and other crimes.