Two little girls have been pictured in the care of US authorities after they were dropped over a 14-foot-high border wall in New Mexico and abandoned by smugglers.
The sisters from Ecuador, who are aged three and five, were dumped over the border wall just west of Mt. Cristo Rey, near El Paso, on Tuesday night.
The girls were rescued by agents soon after and taken to the Santa Teresa Border Patrol Station for medical evaluation.
In a photo obtained by Fox News on Friday, the girls could be seen interacting with El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez as they were given snacks at the processing center.
It was not immediately clear when the photo was taken.
The sisters from Ecuador, who are aged three and five, were pictured interacting with El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez after being rescued
The image of them inside the processing center came just days after disturbing footage released by US Customs Border and Protection showed the moment the girls were dropped, one after another, over the barrier in the middle of the night.
Immediately after the girls landed on the ground, two smugglers could be seen fleeing on the Mexican side of the border.
The footage was captured by an agent’s utilizing camera technology.
The camera operator immediately alerted Santa Teresa agents and directed them to the remote location.
Agents were able to find the little girls and said they were both alert when they made contact with them.
They treated them at the scene but then transported them to a local hospital for precautionary measures and further evaluation.
The two girls are currently in the Border Patrol temporary holding facility.
‘I’m appalled by the way these smugglers viciously dropped innocent children from a 14-foot border barrier,’ Chavez said.
Disturbing footage released by US Customs Border and Protection showed the moment the girls were dropped, one after another, over the barrier in the middle of the night
The girls, pictured above immediately after being dropped, were rescued by agents soon after and taken to the Santa Teresa Border Patrol Station for medical evaluation
Immediately after the girls landed on the ground, two smugglers could be seen fleeing on the Mexican side of the border
‘If not for the vigilance of our agents using mobile technology, these two tender-aged siblings would have been exposed to the harsh elements of desert environment for hours.
‘We are currently working with our law enforcement partners in Mexico and attempting to identify these ruthless human smugglers so as to hold them accountable to the fullest extent of the law.’
It comes as new government statistics revealed that 171,000 migrants were caught by US authorities at the border in March – the highest monthly total in two decades and the latest sign of the mounting humanitarian challenge confronting President Joe Biden.
The total includes about 19,000 unaccompanied migrant children and 53,000 family members traveling together, the preliminary figures show.
The preliminary March arrest totals at the US-Mexico border represent the highest monthly level since April 2000 when border patrol agents caught more than 180,000 migrants.
The Biden administration is struggling to find housing for unaccompanied children who have been backed up in crowded border stations and processing centers for days.
The shelter system that houses the children has been overwhelmed and the US Department of Health and Human Services has scrambled in recent weeks to open emergency shelters, including sites in conventions centers in Dallas and San Diego.
New government statistics revealed that 171,000 migrants were caught by US authorities at the border in March – the highest monthly total in two decades. Pictured is a border patrol facility in Donna, Texas this week
Young children lie inside a pod at the Department of Homeland Security holding facility run by border patrol this week
The Biden administration is struggling to find housing for unaccompanied children who have been backed up in crowded border stations and processing centers for days
