Five illegal Guatemalan migrants were arrested for neglecting a child after a one-year-old boy was discovered walking alone in the middle of a busy road in Florida.
Ofelia Chaves, 20, Emerson Edilberto, 21, Estiven Hidalgo, 24, Edwin Carajal, 26, and Dais Hernandez, 23, are being jailed without bail after the child was discovered on the 800 block of Southwest Darwin Boulevard in Port St. Lucie.
Sgt. Dominick Mesiti of Port St. Lucie police told WPTV News that vehicles had to swerve around to avoid the toddler on the road.
‘Thank God he wasn’t hit by a car,’ he said. ‘Thank goodness he didn’t stray into a waterway, as there are plenty in that region of the city.’
The arrests occurred at 2:20pm Friday afternoon, when police responded to complaints of a toddler walking in the middle of the road.
When cops arrived, they took the youngster off the street before locating his residence in the 500 block of Southwest Sara Boulevard.
When authorities arrived at the home, they were greeted by Chavez, her companion Edilberto, and his brother Hidalgo. A four-month-old newborn girl was present in the house.
According to preliminary findings, Chavez was feeding the newborn girl in a bedroom at the time, while Edilberto and Hidalgo were meant to be watching over the one-year-old in another room.
Investigators believe the toddler exited the house via a sliding glass door that was left open as one of the adults grilled on the back patio.
It’s unknown how long the child was by himself.
When cops arrived at the house, they discovered no electricity and a decaying foot in the refrigerator.
‘All the food in the refrigerator and freezer had started to spoil,’ Mesiti explained. ‘The food in the freezer had thawed out, and the meats and other items were thawed out and bleeding.
Additionally, there was no bedding or furniture in the house. It appeared like the youngsters slept on a mattress on the floor.
Mesiti told the newspaper, “There was clothing everywhere on the floor.” ‘It was difficult to tell if there was a mattress or not.
During the inquiry, a seven-year-old boy who also lived at the house was dropped off by a neighbor who claimed to take the youngster to and from school, NBC Miami said.
Carbajal and Hernandez returned to the home just as the third child was dropped off.
According to police, the two-bedroom townhome housed eight people, including five adults and three children.
Isabel Goldberg, a neighbor, told WPTV that she was saddened after learning about the children’s living situation.
‘The poor baby, perhaps he was disoriented or hungry,’ Goldberg explained. That destroyed my heart.
All three youngsters living at the house were sent to a nearby hospital, with several exhibiting signs of dehydration and lethargy. None of the youngsters showed any evidence of physical maltreatment.
The children, who were born in the United States when the parents first moved to Arizona, are now in the custody of the Department of Children and Families.
‘It was clear that they couldn’t afford to keep the electricity on, furnish the house, and feed the children,’ Mesiti told WPBF News.
The arrests have been reported to federal authorities, and the adults are awaiting transfer to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
On Tuesday, six more illegal Guatemalan migrants were apprehended in neighboring Martin County, all with lengthy criminal records that include violence, child abuse, fraud, and DWI, according to WPTV.
Local authorities are now prepared for a potential migrant surge, particularly near the sea border.
‘Florida sheriffs have been notified that there are around 1,500 bed slots in federal detention facilities,’ Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek stated on Friday.
‘It is possible that the beds will fill soon.’
‘As drug trafficking is hopefully halted on the Mexican border, they’ll try to reroute back into the East Coast,’ he said.
The government has since converted its maritime units into federal agents in anticipation.
‘It provides them federal jurisdiction to go up to 26 miles offshore to help Homeland Security, Border Patrol, and the Coast Guard combat illegal immigration and narcotics smuggling,’ he explained.
The agency has also requested that at least ten deputies obtain Homeland Security Investigations credentials, which will allow them to place federal holds on illegal migrants in the county jail.
Budensiek also stated that he is prepared to increase the jail’s workforce if necessary.
Both Florida arrests came amid President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
A senior White House insider told DailyMail.com that since Trump took office, ICE had deported nearly 6,000 illegal migrants.
Since Trump took office, there have been an average of 370-400 deportations every day.
ICE deported 512 illegal aliens on Monday alone, according to official data obtained by DailyMail.com.
ICE detained 715 people on Monday for outstanding immigration infractions.
Of these migrants, 73% had known criminal convictions or outstanding charges, which included homicide, sexual assaults against minors, and drug trafficking.
Since Trump’s inauguration, about 9,000 immigration violators have been arrested, with many having numerous convictions or charges, according to the official.
‘President Trump’s administration is keeping his commitment to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens,’ a senior White House official texted DailyMail.com.
‘There is more to come. This is only the beginning.’
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump praised the crackdown on criminal aliens.
‘Given the number of criminality and the severity of the acts, these folks are bad people, and anyone who thinks they’ll be beautiful citizens someday is mistaken. It’s not going to happen,’ Trump declared.
‘If I can get them out of the nation and into another country where they’re pleased to have them because they make a modest price compared to what we’ve spent to a private prison, or put them in one of our prisons, which would cost even more money, I believe it would be fantastic,’ he added.
