Border Patrol Agents Report Increase in 'Fake Families'
Updated: Jul 2, 2014 6:35 PM
175
RIO GRANDE VALLEY - The threat of danger looms over thousands of undocumented immigrants who cross the border daily.
The vice-president of the Border Patrol union in the Rio Grande Valley says agents are seeing more of what they call "pseudo families" or "fake families."
Many undocumented immigrants are desperate to get to their final destination.
They're pretending to be related to each other to improve their chances.
The spokesperson for the local border patrol union says it's working.
It's also dangerous.
Border Patrol union representative, Chris Cabrera said, "It's frustrating to know that people are you know working the system like they are."
Cabrera says there is nothing they can do. They don't have the time or resources.
Cabrera is talking about "pseudo families."
Undocumented immigrants traveling alone are lying to border patrol agents. The adults are telling federal officials they are here with their children.
"You're having unaccompanied children with unaccompanied adults and they're coming together and saying, 'Hey you know what, when we get there, we're going to be a family. You're my uncle and you're my nephew we'll get through the process. Once they release us, we get passed the bus stop, we get passed the check-point then we'll go our separate ways,'" said Cabrera.
Agent Cabrera says word is getting out to illegal immigrants - enter alone and you may be deported - enter as a family and you may have a chance to stay.
Cabrera says it's as simple as swapping information.
"How do we know who this kid is travelling with? Is the person intending on doing some harm to this child?" asks Cabrera.
He says there's not much border patrol can do. They don't have the manpower to dig into their stories. That concerns Cabrera.
"A lot of our agents are parents and we don't want to see harm come to any kid especially a kid that we released," said Cabrera.
Cabrera says more resources are needed to address this problem.
Cabrera says he would like to see additional funding - more agents assigned to the Valley and more detention space.
He says the government needs to find a way to fix this problem.
http://www.krgv.com/news/border-patrol-agents-report-increase-in-fake-families-/
