Two weeks ago, Texas Scorecard provided an update on the situation in El Paso, where hundreds of homeless illegal aliens are overwhelming city resources. Since then, the impact on the community of El Paso continues to grow substantially at local taxpayers’ expense.
Recently, Anthony Aguero, an independent journalist with Border Network News, reported that many of the migrants have resorted to panhandling downtown due to the lack of available resources and sponsors. Aguero interviewed many individuals here illegally, including a 13-year-old boy forced to sell flowers at a busy intersection.
When asked, the boy stated that he was attending school online. However, during a subsequent interview with the boy’s adult brother, it was revealed that the 13-year-old was, in fact, not attending school due to being denied for lack of proper documentation and vaccination records. During the interview, the young teenager and the adult brother stated that they are from Romania and illegally crossed with several others into the United States through Arizona over five months ago. According to the adult male, the family currently lives amongst several others in a nearby home.
Photo Credit: Anthony Aguero
According to the Texas Workforce Commission, it is illegal to employ a child under the age of 14, with exceptions only for agricultural purposes and stipulations that the job must not interfere with the child’s education. Yet, this child has been seen selling flowers during the hot daytime hours, approaching strangers in passing vehicles, with seemingly no interference from local or state authorities.
One of the most heart-wrenching yet often overlooked elements of open border policies is the negative impacts on young children who have no control of their forced migration. Many of these children face a high likelihood of abuse and danger traveling to a foreign country, as reported last week by Texas Scorecard.
With law enforcement agencies across Texas currently overwhelmed, it is likely that cases of child exploitation occurring in border metropolitan areas like El Paso will continue to go easily unnoticed. This type of forced child labor is reminiscent of horrific scandals found in Mexico City and is now happening in Texas border cities due to failing federal policies.
The reckless border policies of the Biden administration and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas continue to promote the exploitation of children. In July, Breitbart reported young child migrants were found to be working in a low-paying auto parts factory in Alabama. In February, Reuters disclosed how migrant children were found to be used to work in dangerous chicken processing plants. In March, the Center for Immigration Studies described how the Biden administration was responsible for an estimated 20,000 unaccompanied minors going missing. Recent reports indicated numerous missing children within the state of Texas.
According to the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, more than 268,000 unaccompanied minors have crossed the southwestern U.S. border since the Biden administration took office through August 2022. Of those, 210,829 have crossed through the five Texas sectors with no sign of ceasing or slowing down.
Concerned citizens can stay alert and report any suspicious activity to local law enforcement.
This is a commentary published with the author’s permission. If you wish to submit a commentary to Texas Scorecard, please submit your article to submission@texasscorecard.com.
