(NewsNation) — A new poll revealed the crisis at the southern border is a top issue for voters in the 2024 election. But while politicians discuss border policy to bolster support, officials at the border are facing the crisis on the front lines daily.
In late March, a Terrell County sheriff rescued an 18-year-old who was abandoned by the smugglers who were supposed to help him cross into the U.S. The teen, Hector, signaled to a game camera in a desolate part of Texas, showing himself and his Mexican passport, prompting Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland to launch a rescue mission.
Hector had been camping alone in a rancher’s RV for two days, fashioning a flag out of a pillowcase and some piping to try to alert someone to his presence.
When Cleveland found him, he was distraught and in tears, telling the sheriff he was left behind because he couldn’t keep up with the others in his group.
“I want to go home to my mother,” Hector told the sheriff in Spanish. “They left me in those hills, and I went to the ranch looking for help.”
The video of Hector crying and asking to go home got more than 25 million views, and many commended Cleveland for handling the situation.
The sheriff received hundreds of positive and encouraging messages, one of which read, “This sheriff gets it. He is an example of how law enforcement officers can do their job while being nice.”
Another commenter wrote, “I just want to say thank you for being one of the better people out there.”
Yet another wrote, “I commend you for how you handled the situation with compassion, and your attempt to help and comfort him. At the end of the day, we’re all human and you sir, handled it humanely.”
While Cleveland has encountered hundreds of abandoned migrants in his 26 years serving Border Patrol, he says his interaction with Hector is one he’s never had before.
“He was just in a position I’ve never seen before. And you know, his first thing was, he approached me, and he was crying, and you know, it wasn’t a fake cry. Whatever it is, people are emotional, and I think we all want to kind of be there to help comfort somebody,” the sheriff said.
Now, Cleveland is working with Hector’s family, who live in Pueblo, Mexico, to consider what an asylum application would look like and see whether they would qualify.
In 2023, Terrell County, where Hector was rescued, had 45 distress calls. In just the first four months of 2024, the county has already received 43 distress calls.
On Thursday, May 9th, NewsNation rides with officials at the border, showing you the border the way no other news network can. See it Thursday, May 9th, on a special edition of “Dan Abrams Live” at 9 p.m. Eastern (8 p.m. Central). Find out your channel at joinnn.com.
