- U.S. border agents arrested Amilcar Guiza-Reyes, who admitted to buying a six-month-old baby in Guatemala for $80
- Guiza-Reyes was nabbed after illegally crossing the Mexico-U.S. border May 7
- The Honduran migrant told immigration authorities he purchased the infant in the Guatemalan town of Huehuetenango
- The undocumented immigrant said he was told that family units presenting asylum petitions were favored at the southern U.S. border
- Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan said that migrants were paying more than $1,000 to rent or buy children
- More than 5,000 fraudulent families have been detected over the last eight weeks by HSI investigators at the border, officials say
A Honduran migrant admitted to purchasing a baby for $80 in Guatemala after finding out that it was easier for family units to apply for asylum at the United States border.
Amilcar Guiza-Reyes, 51, confessed to immigration agents when he presented himself at the border with the six-month-old boy and was told he would be required to undergo a DNA test.
According to U.S. officials, the undocumented immigrant, Guiza-Reyes reportedly bought the child during his stop in the western Guatemalan town of Huehuetenango and continued his journey through Mexico before reaching the southern U.S. border where he was detained May 7.
The case is one of thousands which officials flagged as potentially fraudulent in recent weeks.
The child, whose name was withheld for privacy reasons, was transferred to the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services for placement.