‘They want to rob our kids’: claims migrant men are stealing or buying children to enter US investigated by Mexico
- Witnesses say single women in shelters in Tijuana are being approached by groups of men and offered money for their children
Some migrants in Mexico are trying to buy children from single mothers in local shelters so they can more easily get into the United States, according to shelter directors, migrants and Tijuana law enforcement authorities.
A decades-old law, known as the Flores agreement, says migrant children should only be held briefly in US border custody, which often means they are released with the parent or guardian with whom they crossed while they wait for their asylum cases to be heard.
Typically, migrants apprehended at the border with their children are only held in custody for a few days. Single adults who cross the border can face months in detention.
US border authorities have been warning since June 2018 about people fraudulently using children who are not theirs to pose as family units and gain entry.
These are cases of desperation. Of course, the women have not accepted any of these offers, but clearly this is a huge concern because of the danger to the children
Authorities in Tijuana are now warning migrant mothers to supervise their children after reports of men offering to buy them.