A lone child emerged from the brush along the banks of the Rio Grande River in Hidalgo, Texas, last month, availing herself to Border Patrol agents.
The girl told the agents she was heading to Chugaik, Alaska, to live with her sponsor, Douglas Price, who was later determined to be a 44-year-old registered sex offender, according to the Department of Justice. Price allegedly funneled $5,000 from his business to pay migrant smugglers to bring the child and his mother across the border.
The child, who was separated from her mother before crossing, was rescued before she ended up in the hands of a criminal, thanks to the Trump administration’s crackdown on sponsors of unaccompanied alien children.
“This man allegedly paid smugglers to bring an illegal alien child and mother to this country, and in doing so, the child ended up alone during the dangerous journey,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said.
“Under POTUS, vetting of sponsors for unaccompanied alien children is as strong as ever, and federal partners found this ‘sponsor’ to be unfit. It is a crime to smuggle illegal aliens into this country, and particularly horrendous to expose a child to untold dangers. Working with our federal partners, we will continue to uphold the law and in doing so, keep children from potential harm,” Blanche added.
The Trump administration has sought to improve the vetting of migrant child sponsors who cross the border alone, while also working to hunt down the roughly 320,000 such children that the Biden administration lost track of, and in some cases handed to gang members and sex and labor traffickers.
During the Biden administration, personnel from the Department of Health and Human Services made a “simple phone call” and reviewed an email photo before placing a migrant child with their sponsor, The Daily Wire previously reported.
The Trump administration now requires sponsors and other adults living with them to undergo background checks. The sponsors must also provide proof of income.
Additionally, if the sponsor claims to be a relative, they must also undergo a DNA test. Homeland Security agents meet with the sponsor, while HHS officials visit their home.
Thus far, federal authorities have successfully tracked down 145,000 of the missing children, White House border czar Tom Homan recently said.
Through that effort, Price has been charged with conspiracy to bring aliens to the United States and encouraging aliens to come to, enter, or reside in the country, according to the Department of Justice. He could now spend up to a decade behind bars and a possible $250,000 maximum fine if he’s convicted.
The child left her home country of Honduras with her mother and a smuggler. Her mother told the child that Price would be her sponsor and would assist her with “obtaining her U.S. citizenship,” according to court documents.
In an interview with a Homeland Security Investigations agent, the child said Price sent money to her mother to pay the smugglers.
Price paid roughly $5,000 to fund the mother and daughter’s dangerous journey to the border “through payments from his business, Black Bear Construction,” according to court documents. He allegedly sent the funds “to a phone number provided by the smugglers.”
Price also sent photos of himself to the mother and “inquired about” her daughter’s “status,” court filings said.
Credit: The Department of Justice
Credit: The Department of Justice
At some point in their journey, the mother and her child were separated, according to the Justice Department.
The child’s mother crossed the border less than a week after her daughter traversed it alone. The woman told federal agents that she befriended Price roughly four years prior when the two worked “together in the hotel remodeling business,” according to court documents.
The migrant mother had also worked as Price’s “housekeeper and babysat his children,” she said.
The child’s mother promised to pay Price back “by working for him.”
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