‘Hola mama’: Moment nine-year-old migrant boy speaks to mother he hasn’t seen for seven years

A nine-year-old migrant child who crossed into the United States without his family on Wednesday was captured on camera making a heartbreaking call to his mother, telling her: ‘I’m here.’

The unnamed Guatemalan boy had not seen his mother since he was two years old, and grew up in the home of his grandmother. 

But he was desperate to be reunited with his mother, in the United States, and so his family in Guatemala paid people traffickers to take him into the U.S.

On Wednesday night he made it, and a Fox News crew found him near Roma, Texas.  

A nine-year-old Guatemalan boy, who has not seen his mother in five years, crossed into Texas from Mexico on Wednesday. He was spotted by a Fox News crew, and the reporter lent her phone so that the child could call his mother and tell her he had made it

The reporter, Sara Carter, handed the child her phone, and he called his mother. She later explained that he was traveling alone, after relatives back in Guatemala paid people traffickers to transport him into the United States

The reporter, Sara Carter, handed the child her phone, and he called his mother. She later explained that he was traveling alone, after relatives back in Guatemala paid people traffickers to transport him into the United States

He had a phone number for his mother on a scrap of paper, and so the reporter handed over her phone for the little boy to call his mother. They had not spoken since he made the crossing. 

‘Hello mom, how are you?’ the child said.

‘Good my love, how are you?’ she replied. 

‘Where are you?’

The child replied: ‘I’m here, now.’ 

The boy, who was spotted with other migrant families, is one of 66,000 unaccompanied migrant children to have crossed into the U.S. since October 1, when the fiscal year began.

Border Patrol agents are seen on May 5, awaiting transportation to a processing facility. U.S. agents took more than 111,000 single adult migrants into custody in April, the highest total in more than a decade, and the number increased again in May, according to preliminary enforcement data

Border Patrol agents are seen on May 5, awaiting transportation to a processing facility. U.S. agents took more than 111,000 single adult migrants into custody in April, the highest total in more than a decade, and the number increased again in May, according to preliminary enforcement data

Data from the CBP shows that the fiscal year from October 1 is on track to break records for unaccompanied minor arrivals - although April's figure was a slight decrease on March, which marked a historic high

Data from the CBP shows that the fiscal year from October 1 is on track to break records for unaccompanied minor arrivals – although April’s figure was a slight decrease on March, which marked a historic high

In April 17,171 unaccompanied minors were found by agents with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) – a slight decrease on March’s figures, when 18,960 arrived – an all-time record. 

The March arrivals quickly overwhelmed the U.S. government’s infrastructure to process lone minors. 

The largest Border Patrol facility for migrant children was at 1,640 per cent capacity in late March, holding more than 3,200 unaccompanied minors in a tent designed for 250 people. 

Border Patrol’s more than 70 stations along the border were designed with the goal of temporarily detaining and processing single men, who for decades made up the majority of people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border without permission.

The U.S. government has for years struggled to deal with the shifting demographics of migrants, and the numbers of lone children and families now arriving. 

Since Joe Biden was inaugurated, numbers of unaccompanied migrants arriving have soared.

February, March and April have all seen extremely high numbers of children crossing from Mexico alone: since October 1, 2018, only one month – May 2019 – outpaced the Biden era for child arrivals.

In that month, 11,861 unaccompanied children crossed over.

The total number for this fiscal year so far is double the previous year’s data, with five months remaining.

In the year to September 30, 2020, 33,239 children arrived alone. 

U.S. agents took more than 111,000 single adult migrants into custody in April, the highest total in more than a decade, and the number increased again in May, according to preliminary enforcement data.