We can no longer allow migrant children to be 'lost' or smuggled coming across the border

The recent case of Vanessa Valadez and her role in smuggling children across the U.S.-Mexico border exposes the alarming vulnerability of migrant minors and the urgent need for tighter border control measures to protect them.

Valadez and her co-conspirators not only engaged in human smuggling but went so far as to sedate young children with gummies to bypass border authorities, highlighting the cruel and dangerous methods used by criminal organizations. This situation underscores the broader failures of the current immigration system, which has allowed traffickers to exploit minors for personal gain, often with devastating consequences.

The most alarming aspect of this case is that the victims were children, some as young as five years old, who were drugged and transported across borders like cargo. Reports suggest that at least four other children were similarly smuggled, with the whereabouts of three still unknown.

These children, whose identities were falsified using unlawfully obtained birth certificates, are now at risk of falling into the hands of traffickers or worse. Such stories illustrate the nightmare that awaits these vulnerable young people – trafficked for labor, exploitation, or worse.

According to a report from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lost track of at least 32,000 unaccompanied minors since 2019, leaving them at the mercy of traffickers. Other organizations report at least 200,000 to 300,000.

It’s hard to imagine. This is a grave failure that places the safety and well-being of innocent children in jeopardy. Without tighter border enforcement, criminal organizations will continue to use loopholes to exploit children as a means to bypass border security and carry out illegal activities.

Critics of the current administration, such as Texas Rep. Lance Gooden, argue that the government’s inability to secure the border has only incentivized smugglers. The lack of stringent measures has allowed criminals to use minors as a “free pass” to enter the United States, placing both the children and the nation’s security at risk. Smugglers have learned to manipulate a system that is overwhelmed, and tragically, children have become pawns in a much larger criminal enterprise.

To protect these children, we must first acknowledge that the current system is failing them. A porous border allows criminal networks to thrive, taking advantage of lax enforcement and inadequate tracking mechanisms.

Stronger border policies, enhanced screening procedures, and better coordination between U.S. and Mexican authorities are critical to stopping child smuggling before it happens. Furthermore, the U.S. government must improve its efforts to track and safeguard unaccompanied minors, ensuring that no child falls through the cracks of a broken system.

The case of Vanessa Valadez should serve as a wake-up call. Until we take decisive action to secure the border, traffickers will continue to exploit children– and that is something we can no longer afford to allow.