NOGALES, Ariz.– An alarming trend is spreading along the U.S. and Mexico border — cartels are hiring American children as young as 12 years old to smuggle drugs and weapons.
“It’s a problem, we know it’s there,” said Tucson Sector Border Patrol agent Alan Regalado. “We’re trying to mitigate that issue through education and prevention.”
According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in fiscal year 2018 there were 36 children arrested for narcotics at Arizona’s ports of entry. In fiscal year 2019, that number jumped to 57. So far in fiscal year 2020, which started in October, there’s been 17 arrests.
After noticing this increasing trend, Regalado decided to start the T.E.A.M. Kids program, also known as “Together Educating and Mentoring Kids,” to warn students about border recruiters.
He said they soon noticed the need to implement the program as early as elementary school.
“We went out to local high schools and I noticed that students were already recruited at that point,” Regalado said, adding that the information should be taught at an earlier stage in their lives. – READ MORE
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