Four people, including a baby, drowned while crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico to Texas over the weekend, Texas Department of Public Safety officials announced on Monday.
The baby girl and a woman were pulled from the river near Eagle Pass, Texas, along with two other individuals on Saturday. The individuals were transported to Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center where the infant and woman were pronounced deceased. The other two survived and were turned over to U.S. Border Patrol, according to Lt. Chris Olivarez, spokesperson for the department.
In the past 48 hours, the @TxDPS Tactical Marine Unit (TMU) recovered 4 deceased bodies including an infant from the Rio Grande River in #EaglePass.
— Chris Olivarez (@LtChrisOlivarez) July 3, 2023
7/1/23 - #USBP requested assistance regarding a possible infant drowning. TMU Operators & @MyFWC deployed 2 airboats & observed… pic.twitter.com/cjxoEPDbSj
Within 48 hours, two more individuals were discovered. On Sunday, the body of a man was recovered from the treacherous river. On Monday, the body of a woman was found, Olivarez said. The identities of the deceased remain unknown since none possessed identifying documents.
The Rio Grande, known in Mexico as the El Río Bravo, meaning "the angry river" or "the fierce river" has been a hot spot for many illegal immigrant deaths as they attempt to cross the border into the U.S. These bodies were found in the same area that nine other deceased migrants were pulled from the dangerous river in September last year, AP News reported.
According to The Texas Tribune, lawmakers have allocated billions in the past few years to protect the border. Last month, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) unveiled a plan to place floating marine barriers, or buoys, along hotspots in the Rio Grande River in an attempt to discourage illegal migrants by making it impossible to cross the river.
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“It is a monument to cruelty.”
— Jeremy Wallace (@JeremySWallace) July 1, 2023
That is how @amnestyusa describes @GovAbbott plan to deploy a buoy barrier in the Rio Grande River to impede people trying to swim to shore.
The Trump administration considered the concept but never went thru with ithttps://t.co/0PzwwqrmM8
The buoy strategy is the latest in Abbott’s attempts to stop illegal immigrants from coming to Texas in the overwhelming border crisis.
Over the weekend, Abbott sent another busload of migrants from the southern border to Los Angeles, part of a program that buses migrants to so-called “sanctuary cities,” places where illegal immigrants have additional protections.
Biden’s open border policies left Texas border towns overrun and overwhelmed.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) July 3, 2023
Texas has bused over 24,000 migrants to sanctuary cities to provide relief:
Over 10,300 to DC
Over 9,000 to NYC
Over 3,200 to Chicago
Over 1,700 to Philadelphia
Over 200 to Denver
Over 80 to LA
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