Mother Of Abandoned Infant Girl Says She Was Smuggled Into The U.S.

A woman said her baby, who was found abandoned at a U.S. port of entry on Friday, May 15, had been smuggled into this country.

El Paso Police were called to Conley and Mesa around 8 o'clock Friday night when the 7-month old girl was found abandoned inside a car seat in a car. CBP detained Mayra Selene Lazos at Bridge of the America's around 3:30 Friday afternoon after she was found to have an active warrant under a different name. That's when she told officers that her baby had been smuggled into the U.S.

CBP officials didn't say why she smuggled the little girl into the U.S., but speculated that the desperation of living in the conditions of her home country might have played a part.

Over 10,000 unaccompanied children crossed the border last year alone, but those numbers are thought to be lower this year, and not as high in El Paso. CPB officials say that if Lazos had crossed the border with her little girl, it's likely they would have been protected and kept together by policies set by Homeland Security.