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07th Apr 2021

Heartbreaking footage emerges of migrant boy asking US Border officer for help

Claudia McInerney

The migrant boy asks the border guard for help in the footage

A heartbreaking video has emerged of a migrant boy asking a Texas border official for help, after claiming he was abandoned in the desert.

The footage was released by the US Customs and Border Protection, after being filmed by a border agent on 1 April.

During the video, the young boy, who cannot be identified, is spotted on the side of a dirt road as a US border officer stops to ask him a few questions, before offering him some help.

The young migrant boy tells the border guard that he was with a group of people who were crossing the border, before they abandoned him close to the Rio Grande in Texas at the last minute.

In the video, the boy says in Spanish “I was coming in a group.

“At the end, they abandoned me. I have come here to ask you for help.”

The boy added: “I am coming because if I did not, where am I going to go? Somebody could abduct me, kidnap me. I am scared.”

The migrant boy reportedly spent a night in the desert before finding the border guard.

Gloria Chavez, the US Border Patrol El Paso Sector chief, released a statement after the video was released.

She said: “To all parents who are considering sending their unaccompanied children to the border, please reconsider because it is very dangerous to expose children.”

This comes after the US border authorities found more than 170,000 migrants at the Texas border last month, which is reportedly the highest monthly total in around 20 years.