Child taken into custody from Honduran border-crosser after DNA test reveals they're not related: CBP

U.S. immigration authorities say they have safely brought a child into custody after a DNA proved that he was brought to the border by someone not related to him.

In an Instagram post published Tuesday night, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) showed a picture of a Border Patrol agent holding a small child at a border facility in Texas earlier this month.

"On July 17, McAllen USBP agents encountered a group of 12 people comprised of family units and unaccompanied children who turned themselves in," the post explains. "Record checks revealed an individual traveling with his alleged son had 2 previous immigration arrests in El Paso Sector just in the past month. Given the recent apprehensions and the age of the child, Agents requested the assistance of [Homeland Security Investigations] to administer a rapid DNA test."

"The test revealed there is no parent-child relationship," CBP concluded. "The man admitted he was not the child’s father, but knew the mother and had permission to the take the child. The man admitted that it is common knowledge in Honduras that if you bring a child, you will be released."

This is far from an isolated incident. When the Department of Homeland Security started rapid DNA tests at the border in May, one official claimed that the pilot program found that 30 percent of tested "family units" turned out to be fake. In June, DNA tests turned up 24 false parental claims in just a few days, according to acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan. Rapid DNA tests even exposed a false parenthood claim of a six-month-old baby in May.

“Our goal with rapid DNA testing remains twofold," said ICE Homeland Security Investigations Executive Associate Director Derek Benner in a statement last month. “First, to protect children from being smuggled across the border by ensuring they are with their parents and not being used as pawns by individuals attempting to exploit immigration loopholes. Second, to identify and stop the criminal organizations that are generating false documents and supporting child smuggling.”

The crisis at America's southern border drags on, with the Rio Grande Valley sector setting an all-time annual record for border apprehensions.

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