Border Patrol Uncovers Traffickers Drugging and Smuggling Children into US

Authorities report increasing incidents of traffickers posing as parents to smuggle and exploit children, using sleep aids to avoid detection.

Children as young as 8 are being drugged and smuggled into the US by traffickers posing as family members, according to Border Patrol agents.
Recent cases in California and Arizona revealed traffickers using legitimate birth certificates for unrelated children to bypass border checks.
In one incident, a US citizen was arrested with two drugged children in her car, who were found to be unrelated and heavily sedated.
Authorities are concerned about the fate of these children, who may be exploited for child labor or sex trafficking once inside the US.
The Biden-Harris administration ended a rapid DNA testing program initiated in 2019 to deter child trafficking, raising concerns about the effectiveness of current measures.